Quornelius Radford was identified as a U.S. Army sergeant who allegedly opened fire and injured five soldiers.
The man suspected of opening fire at Fort Stewart on Wednesday morning and injuring five soldiers was identified as U.S. Army Sgt. Quornelius Radford, officials said.
Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, confirmed that Radford, an active-duty soldier, was the suspect.
“This morning, shortly before 11:00, an active duty soldier assigned to Fort Stewart, Georgia, shot and wounded five of his fellow soldiers,” he said in a Wednesday afternoon news conference. “Thankfully, all are in stable condition and all are expected to recover.” Three of the victims underwent surgery, he said.
The shooter opened fire inside the base, officials said. Soldiers who witnessed the shooting “immediately and without hesitation” tackled the shooter, Lubas said.
“That allowed law enforcement to then take him into custody,” he added at a press event.
He did not provide details on Radford’s possible motive. The incident is not believed to be connected to an Army training event, he said.
“We’re still not certain about the motivation, but again, he’s been interviewed by Army investigators and we believe we’ll gain more information here shortly,” Lubas said.
Radford had used his own handgun and not a military-issued firearm, Lubas told reporters. He didn’t elaborate on how Radford allegedly was able to bring his personal firearm onto the base.
“I can confirm it was not a military weapon. And we believe it was a personal handgun,” he told reporters.
Also in the press conference, Lubas said that Army officials were not aware of an arrest where Radford was allegedly driving under the influence. He was asked about reports that cited anonymous police sources that had claimed Radford was arrested for a DUI.
“I do believe he was arrested locally for a DUI. That was unknown to his chain of command until the event occurred and we started looking into the law enforcement databases,” he said.
The injured were treated and then moved to Winn Army Community Hospital, base officials said in a Facebook post, adding there’s no threat to the community.
