Washington [US], August 7: A tragic incident unfolded at the Fort Stewart military base in Georgia, United States on Wednesday, where a fellow active-duty soldier opened fire and injured five other soldiers. The incident took place inside the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area, CNN reported.
As reported by CNN, the shooting happened around 11 a.m. local time. Officials said the shooter used his personal handgun to fire at fellow soldiers. The suspect was subdued by other soldiers at the scene and was arrested by 11:35 am, nearly 40 minutes after the firing began.
According to CNN, five soldiers were injured in the shooting.
Two of them were shifted to the Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah.Three others were being treated at an Army hospital.
All five are said to be in stable condition and are expected to recover, as per Army officials.
The shooter has been identified as a 28-year-old Sgt. Quornelius Radford, originally from Jacksonville, Florida.He is an active-duty soldier assigned to the same brigade where the incident occurred and joined the Army in 2018 as an automated logistical specialist.
As per CNN, he has no combat history, and officials are not aware of any prior behavioural issues. However, he had been arrested in May this year for driving under the influence.
The reason behind the attack is still unknown.
The case will be handled by the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel (OSTC), the Army's equivalent of the US Attorney's Office.
Once the evidence is reviewed and charges are finalised, Sgt. Radford is expected to face a general court-martial, which is the highest level of military trial and used for the most serious crimes, according to the US Department of Defence, as per CNN.
Reacting to the incident, US President Donald Trump expressed concern and sympathy for the victims and their families, calling the act an "atrocity."
"Five people were seriously wounded and two very, very seriously hurt around 11:00 this morning. 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 on Wednesday before an event at the White House, according to CNN.
He added, "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 who did this, a horrible person."
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth also commented on the incident on X (formerly Twitter), calling it a "cowardly shooting."
"We owe profound gratitude to the law enforcement heroes who charged into danger. Swift justice will be brought to the perpetrator and anyone else found to be involved," he wrote.
Source: Times of Oman
