Five Soldiers Wounded in Fort Stewart Shooting; Fellow Sergeant in Custody

FORT STEWART, Ga. – An active-duty U.S. Army sergeant allegedly opened fire on his co-workers with a personal handgun at Fort Stewart on Wednesday, wounding five fellow soldiers before being tackled and subdued by other service members, according to military officials.

All five victims are in stable condition and are expected to recover, with three having required surgery for their injuries. The suspect, Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, is now in pretrial confinement as the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigates a motive. The incident has brought renewed scrutiny to a long-standing Department of Defense policy that largely prohibits service members from carrying personal firearms on military installations.

The shooting occurred shortly before 11:00 a.m. on August 6 at the suspect’s workplace within the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area. According to a law enforcement official who spoke with CNN, the suspect arrived at the base with a 9mm handgun, followed one victim into a maintenance area, and shot the individual before shooting four others.

Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart, praised the quick and decisive actions of the soldiers who intervened. He stated that they “immediately and without hesitation tackled the soldier, subdued him,” preventing additional harm. The suspect was taken into custody within 39 minutes of the first shots being fired.

The suspect was identified as Sgt. Quornelius Radford, an automated logistics sergeant from Jacksonville, Florida, who has been in the Army since 2018 and has no combat history. Military officials said they were not aware of any prior behavioral issues concerning Radford. However, they acknowledged that a May 2025 arrest for driving under the influence was unknown to his chain of command until after the shooting occurred.

While the motive remains officially “unclear,” investigators are reportedly looking into a disagreement the suspect allegedly had with one of the victims the previous day.

President Donald Trump addressed the shooting, calling it an “atrocity” and vowing that the perpetrator “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth referred to it as a “cowardly shooting” and promised “swift justice.”

Radford will be tried under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a separate legal system from civilian courts, and is expected to face a court-martial.

The incident has reignited a debate over military gun policies. Radford allegedly used a personal weapon he purchased in Florida, not a government-issued firearm. According to experts, DoD policy strictly limits personal firearms on bases to ensure safety and security, particularly at installations that handle classified information. However, former military prosecutor Eric Carpenter noted the legal challenges in preventing a service member living off-base from bringing a weapon onto an installation, stating that the existing rules may not be enough to stop a determined individual.

This shooting is the latest in a number of violent incidents at U.S. military bases over the years, including prior events at Fort Hood, the Washington Navy Yard, and in Pensacola, Florida.