Fort Stewart shooting: Charges announced for suspected gunman

Fort Stewart soldiers honored for heroism

The investigation into the mass shooting at Fort Stewart continues Thursday afternoon. Five soldiers were wounded when the US Army said one of their own opened fire on his coworkers Wednesday morning. The suspected shooter is behind bars. Army officials say things could have been worse if it weren't for several soldiers who disarmed him. A ceremony took place at Fort Stewart to honor them.

HINESVILLE, Ga. - We now know the charges against a U.S. Army sergeant accused of shooting five fellow soldiers at Georgia's Fort Stewart Army base. 

On Tuesday, 28-year-old Army Sgt. Quornelius Radford made his first appearance in a military courtroom.

The backstory:

Radford was arrested Aug. 6 after officials say he opened fire with a personal handgun on members of his supply unit.

The shooting caused the Army post near Savannah and multiple school systems to go into lockdown for hours.

Officials say Radford was stopped when soldiers in the area tackled him and wrestled his gun away, restraining him until military police arrived. All five of the wounded soldiers survived the attack.

Quornelius Radford is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, and domestic violence. (WTOC/Liberty County Sheriff’s Office)

The Army confirmed the weapon used was his personal firearm, not a military-issued gun. Investigators are working to learn how he was able to get the weapon onto the base.

New details in Fort Stewart shooting 

What we know:

In court Tuesday, the sergeant was charged with six counts of attempted murder — the sixth referring to a soldier he shot at and missed, said Michelle McCaskill, a spokesperson for the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel, which is prosecuting Radford.

Radford also faces six counts of aggravated assault and a single count of domestic violence.

"That charge is there because one of the victims was the intimate partner of the accused," McCaskill said.

She said she did not know whether Radford’s partner was among the five people he wounded. The Army has not released the victims’ names.

Fort Stewart officials have declined to comment on the shooter’s motives.

What's next:

Under military law, attempted murder carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Now that he’s been charged, Radford faces pretrial proceedings to determine whether there is enough evidence for him to stand trial by court-martial.

Who is Sgt. Quornelius Radford?

Who is Quornelius Radford, alleged Fort Stewart shooter?

The shooting started just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team (ABCT) area, according to officials. The shooter, identified as Sgt. Quornelius Radford, began shooting at his workplace. Army soldiers intervened, tackled Radford, and subdued him until police personnel showed up to arrest him.

Dig deeper:

Last week, the New York Times reported Radford sent a chilling text message to his aunt just moments before the shooting, saying goodbye to "everybody" and that he would be "in a better place." 

His father told the Times his son had requested a transfer from Fort Stewart after complaining of racism. However, he also said that he hadn't noticed anything unusual about his son's behavior recently. 

The New York Post reported Radford was bullied over his stutter during the two months he spent at Fort Lee, Virginia, in 2018. 

Radford had no known prior discipline or mental health issues reported on base, but officials said they are still investigating. However, after the shooting, officials say they learned Radford had been arrested for a DUI after running a red light in Hinesville. 

According to the incident report, Radford refused breathalyzer and field sobriety tests, insisting he was not intoxicated. 

However, the arresting officer noted the smell of alcohol and described Radford’s eyes as watery and bloodshot. He was scheduled to appear in Liberty County court on Aug. 20, according to USA Today.