Army sergeant Quornelius Radford has been identified as the shooter who injured five soldiers at the Fort Stewart Army base in southeast Georgia on Wednesday. He is currently in pretrial confinement following an interview with Army criminal investigators.
The five soldiers who were shot are in stable condition and are expected to recover, Brigadier General John Lubas, the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, said during a press conference on Wednesday. Three will need surgery and two have been hospitalized at the Memorial Hospital in Savannah.
Personnel at the base were issued an order on Wednesday to lock down, “stay inside, close and lock all windows and doors.” An all clear order was issued by mid-afternoon. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting, and the White House and Department of Homeland Security are monitoring the situation.
Radford, 28, is an automated logistics sergeant and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, according to Lubas. The suspected shooter had previously been arrested for a DUI in May, which his commanding officer was not aware of.
“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,” Lubas said. Officials are not aware of any other prior behavioral issues shown by Radford.
Radford used a personal handgun that he had purchased in Florida in May, not a military weapon, to carry out the attack. Although Radford’s motive is still unknown, he is being “interviewed by Army investigators and we believe we’ll gain more information here shortly,” Lubas said Wednesday afternoon.
Soldiers who witnessed Radford opened fire quickly subdued him and he was taken into custody alive at 11:35 a.m., about a half hour before the lockdown order lifted.
“Soldiers in the area that witnessed the shooting immediately and without hesitation tackled the soldier, subdued him. That allowed law enforcement to then take him into custody,” Lubas said.
A law enforcement officer told CNN that Radford had gotten into a disagreement with one of the victims the day before the shooting. After arriving to the military base Wednesday morning, Radford followed the soldier he had been arguing with to a maintenance area and shot him in the chest. He then shot four other soldiers before being tackled.
Fort Stewart is located near Savannah, and is home to the 3rd Infantry Division. More than 10,000 soldiers, Army employees, and their families live on-base.
“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 all Georgians do the same,” Governor Brian Kemp said.
President Trump condemned the shooting from the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon. “The shooter is now in custody and the Army Criminal Investigation Division is on site to ensure that the perpetrator of this atrocity, which is exactly what it is, will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Trump said.
“The entire nation is praying for the victims and their families, and hopefully they’ll fully recover, and we can put this chapter behind. But we’re not going to forget what happened. We’re going to take very good care of this person that did this — horrible person.”
Because Radford is an active-duty soldier, he will not be tried for his alleged crimes as a civilian. Instead, he will be charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the justice system of the U.S. armed forces. If convicted at a court-martial of a serious crime, such as attempted murder, Radford may be punished with confinement in a military prison.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth called the Fort Stewart attack a “cowardly shooting” in a post on X. “We owe profound gratitude to the law enforcement heroes who charged into danger,” Hegseth wrote. “Swift justice will be brought to the perpetrator and anyone else found to be involved.”