Army Sgt. Suspect as 5 Soldiers Shot at Ga. Base

Five soldiers were shot Wednesday at Fort Stewart in Georgia, leading to a lockdown at the Army base before the suspect, and an active-duty soldier was arrested.

All five soldiers are in stable condition and expected to fully recover, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, which is based at Fort Stewart, said at a news conference that aired live on Newsmax. The suspected shooter was identified as Quornelius Radford, 28.

Early Wednesday evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on the social media site X, confirming many of the known details of the incident:

"Today, a cowardly shooting at Fort Stewart left five brave Soldiers wounded. Praise God they are all in stable condition. Our prayers are with them, their families, and the entire Fort Stewart community in the aftermath of this attack. We owe profound gratitude to the law enforcement heroes who charged into danger. Swift justice will be brought to the perpetrator and anyone else found to be involved."

The shooting took place in the team area of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, which is also known as the Spartan Brigade.

"Sergeant Radford has been interviewed by the Army Criminal Investigation Division and is currently in pretrial confinement, awaiting a charging decision by the office of the Special Trial Counsel," Lubas said, adding a motive hasn't been determined. "Right now, our primary focus is first on caring for injured soldiers and their families and also supporting the soldiers of the Spartan Brigade. All of the families of the victims have been notified, and we're wrapping our arms around them and ensuring we provide them all the support that we can."

Three of the soldiers required surgery, and two were transported to Memorial Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, for additional care, Lubas said.

Lubas said the suspect used a personal firearm and not a military weapon in the shooting, and that the injured soldiers were not part of his team.

"I can confirm it was not a military weapon, and we believe it was a personal handgun," Lubas said. "I'm very confident in the security of this installation. We've got a great partnership with local law enforcement. As you can see here at our gates, we have armed guards in protective equipment.

"This one's a bit difficult. And we're going to have to determine how he was able to get a handgun to his place of duty."

Lubas confirmed that Radford had previously been arrested for driving under the influence and that it was not known by his chain of command. Lubas would not confirm where Radford is from. Multiple media outlets reported Radford was from Jacksonville, Florida.

"I do believe he was arrested locally for a DUI," Lubas said. "That was unknown to his chain of command until the event occurred, and we started looking into the law enforcement databases."

Lubas said he doesn't believe there was any element of terrorism to the attack and said soldiers quickly reacted to the incident to tackle and subdue Radford.

"Soldiers in the area that witnessed the shooting immediately and without hesitation tackled the soldier, subdued him," Lubas said. "That allowed law enforcement to then take him into custody.

"Currently we have no reason to believe [terrorism] is the case. However, we continually continuously assess the threat environment both in the immediate area and across our Army and DoD [Department of Defense] installations, and we will address the threat level accordingly."

The Army said the shooting occurred at 10:56 a.m. EDT. The base went on lockdown at 11:04 a.m. The shooter was apprehended at 11:35 a.m., the base said on social media, adding the lockdown of the "main cantonment area" was lifted at 12:10 p.m.

About 8,800 people live at Fort Stewart, about 40 miles southwest of Savannah. It is the largest Army post east of the Mississippi River.

"The President has been briefed on the shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia. The White House is monitoring the situation," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post to X. The FBI said it is coordinating with the Army on any "assistance that might be needed."

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she also has been briefed.

"@DHSgov is actively monitoring the situation on the ground. We are praying for the victims and their families," she said in a post to X.

Gov. Brian Kemp issued statement on Facebook: "As we remain in close contact with law enforcement on the ground, Marty, the girls, and I are saddened by today's tragedy at Ft. Stewart. We are keeping the victims, their families, and all those who answer the call to serve in our hearts and prayers, and we ask that Georgians everywhere do the same."

All Fort Stewart schools are no longer on lockdown and have continued normal operations.