All 5 soldiers shot at Fort Stewart expected to survive, fellow soldier in custody

HINESVILLE, Ga. (WTOC/Gray News/AP) - An Army sergeant opened fire at Fort Stewart on Wednesday, shooting five soldiers and prompting a brief lockdown at one of the country’s largest Army bases, officials said.

Few details were immediately available about what led to the gunfire, but the suspected shooter was identified by a U.S. official as logistics Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28. He has not previously been deployed to combat.

Radford opened fire at his workplace using a personal handgun and not a military-issued weapon, officials said.

The shooting happened at the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area of the base. Law enforcement was dispatched to the area at 10:56 a.m.

The alleged shooter was apprehended at 11:35 a.m.

Soldiers in the area who witnessed the shooting “immediately and without hesitation” tackled the shooter, Lubas said. Radford was then taken into custody.

The Army said it’s investigating the shooting. There were still many unanswered questions, including the condition of the soldiers, the scope of their injuries, the name of the shooter as well as any possible motive.

The Army won’t release names pending notification of family members and they won’t speculate on motive, Lt. Col. Angel Tomko said at a news conference.

Officials did say, however, all five victims are in stable condition and are expected to survive. Three of them had to have surgery.

All soldiers were treated on-site and moved to Winn Army Community Hospital for further treatment, base officials said in a Facebook post.

Some of the wounded were also taken to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, said spokesperson Bryna Gordon. The hospital is the top-level trauma center for coastal Georgia.

This latest act of violence on a U.S. military installation — sites that are supposed to be among the most secure in the country — again raised concerns about safety and security within the armed forces’ own walls.

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.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a message on X saying the president has been briefed on the shooting at Fort Stewart.

“The President has been briefed on the shooting at Fort Stewart in Georgia. The White House is monitoring the situation,” wrote Karoline Leavitt.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said he is “keeping the victims, their families, and all those who answer the call to serve in our hearts and prayers.”

Located about 40 miles 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 Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and family members.

Among the deadliest acts of violence on U.S. military bases was a 2009 attack. A U.S. 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 U.S. Navy sailor shot two people to death before killing himself at Pearl Harbor, the Naval station in Hawaii.