A sergeant shot five soldiers Wednesday at one the USA’s largest army bases before he was quickly tackled by other Fort Stewart troops, forcing a brief lockdown, officials said.
Few details were immediately available about what led to the gunfire, but officials said the shooter was Sergeant Quornelius Radford, 28, who used a personal handgun, not a military firearm.
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Radford opened fire where he worked but officials wouldn’t speculate about a motive, authorities said.
The injured soldiers are stable and expected to recover, said Brigadier General John Lubas. The soldiers who tackled Radford helped ensure his arrest, Lubas said.
“These soldiers, without a doubt, prevented further casualties or wounded,” he said.
NBC reports Radford is an automated logistical specialist assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Stewart. The Florida man joined the army in January of 2018 and has not been deployed to any warzones, officials said.
Radford faced an August 20 hearing in Hinesville, a small town near the base, on a accusations of driving under the influence and running a red light just after 1am on May 18, according to a citation and court filing. He was given a blood test and freed on a $US1818 bond, the documents said.
His lawyer in the traffic case did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“The shooting occurred at the soldier’s place of work,” said Brigadier General John Lubas, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield.
“It did involve his co-workers. We’re still not certain about the motivations.”
Law enforcement was sent to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team complex shortly before 11am Wednesday. The shooter was arrested at 11:35am, officials said.
The US Army said it’s investigating the shooting. There were still many unanswered questions, including the scope of the injuries and the shooter’s motive.
The injured were taken to the hospital and three underwent surgery, officials said.
The lockdown lasted about an hour. After it was lifted, cars began to move through the normal security checkpoint at the fort’s main gate.
The US Army’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team was created in 2016 when the service added more than 200 vehicles to an infantry unit of roughly 4200 soldiers. Also known as the “Spartan Brigade”, the US Army has called the unit its “most modern land fighting force”.
Located about 64 kilometers southwest of Savannah, Fort Stewart is the largest army post east of the Mississippi River. It’s home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the US Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and family members.
White House and Defense Department officials said President Donald Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth had been briefed on the shooting.
The FBI was at the fort to help investigate, said Deputy Director Dan Bongino.
Among the deadliest acts of violence on US military bases was a 2009 attack. A US Army psychiatrist killed 13 people in a shooting that left more than 30 wounded at Fort Hood, a military installation in Texas.
In 2013, a defense contract worker and former Navy reservist killed 12 people at Washington Navy Yard. He was then killed in a gun battle with police.
In 2014, a soldier opened fire on his fellow service members at Fort Hood, killing three people and wounding more than a dozen others before the gunman killed himself.
In 2019, an aviation student opened fire in a classroom at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, killing three people and injuring another dozen people including two sheriff’s deputies. Just days earlier, a US Navy sailor shot two people to death before killing himself at Pearl Harbor, the Naval station in Hawaii.
