An active-duty soldier opened fire at Fort Stewart military base in south-east Georgia on Wednesday, wounding five other soldiers before being taken into custody.
All victims are in stable condition and expected to recover. Three of the soldiers required surgery, and two were transferred to Memorial Health University medical center in Savannah, the top-level trauma center for coastal Georgia.
Brig Gen John Lubas, commander of the third infantry division and Fort Stewart-Hunter army airfield, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the alleged shooter was 28-year-old Sgt Quornelius Radford, who was assigned to Fort Stewart.
“The shooting occurred at the soldier’s place of work,” Lubas said. “It did involve his co-workers. We’re still not certain about the motivations, but again, he’s been interviewed by army investigators, and we believe we’ll gain more information here shortly.”
Parts of the base had been locked down earlier on Wednesday after a shooter was reported on the sprawling army post, a spokesperson said. The base later issued an all-clear, and gates were reopened at Fort Stewart, Wright army airfield and Evans army airfield.
Lubas said soldiers in the area who witnessed the shooting “immediately and without hesitation tackled the soldier, subdued him. That allowed law enforcement to then take him into custody.”
The base said in a Facebook post that the shooting occurred in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area. “All soldiers were treated on-site and moved to Winn Army Community Hospital for further treatment,” the base said.
Lubas confirmed the shooter did not use a military weapon. “We believe it was a personal handgun,” he said.
Located about 40 miles south-west of Savannah, Fort Stewart is the largest army post east of the Mississippi River. It is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the army’s third infantry division and family members.
Almost 9,000 people live on the huge Fort Stewart base, according to Military OneSource, a defense department program.
Hinesville, the city outside the front gate in Liberty county, is estimated to have a population of about 35,000 people indicating what a dominant influence the military base is in the area, and more than 18,000 military retirees live within a 50-mile radius.
The sprawling army complex includes schools for service members’ families, and stores and recreational services across the area. Three schools nearby had also ordered a lockdown following the base shooting. The lockdown was lifted at around noon local time, shortly after it emerged that the shooter had been apprehended and was no longer considered a threat to the community.
During a White House event, Donald Trump called the Fort Stewart shooting an “atrocity” and said the shooter would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law”.
“The entire nation is praying for the victims and their families, and hopefully they’ll fully recover,” Trump said.
An FBI spokesperson said that their Savannah satellite office “is aware of the incident at Fort Stewart and is coordinating with Army Criminal Investigations Division for any assistance that might be needed”.
The AP reports that Radford enlisted in January 2018. He worked as a supply sergeant and has not been deployed.
Radford faced a 20 August hearing in Hinesville, a small town near the base, on accusations of driving under the influence and running a red light just after 1am on 18 May, according to a citation and court filing. He was given a blood test and released on a $1,818 bond, records show.
The homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, said she had been briefed on the shooting and would be closely monitoring the situation.
Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, posted on X saying he and his wife and daughters were saddened by the shooting. “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.”
Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia, also posted an expression of sympathy in the wake of the shooting.
“I’m heartbroken to see the news of an active shooter incident at Fort Stewart today,” Warnock said on Wednesday. “I’m monitoring the situation closely and join all of Georgia as we pray for the safety of our servicemembers, staff, and their families.”
A previous shooting had taken place at Fort Stewart, when an army sergeant was killed in 2022. Sgt Nathan Hillman, a 30-year-old from Pennsylvania, and an Afghan veteran, died during the shooting on 12 December 2022.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed reporting
