Fort Stewart soldiers stable, 'without a doubt prevented further casualties'

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

Five soldiers injured Wednesday at Fort Stewart in Georgia are stable and expected to recover from a shooting by an active-duty soldier, military officials say.

Three of the five wounded required surgery.

The suspect has been identified as Army Sgt. Quornelius Radford, of the 2nd Brigade combat team. Radford has never been deployed to combat and has since been interviewed by the Army Criminal Investigation Division, according to Brig. Gen. John Lubas, who briefed reporters later in the afternoon.

Lubas indicated that the suspect didn’t use a military-issued weapon. He praised soldiers for quickly stopping the shooter.

“The brave soldiers who immediately intervened and subdued the shooter, these soldiers without a doubt prevented further casualties,” said the brigadier general.

Base officials said the suspect was apprehended at 11:35 a.m. local time Wednesday.

The base statement detailing the sequence of events said, “Law enforcement was dispatched for a possible shooting in the 2nd ABCT complex at 10:56 a.m. The shooter was apprehended at 11:35 a.m. The installation was locked down at 11:04 a.m. and Fort Stewart lifted the lockdown of the main cantonment area at 12:10 p.m. 2nd ABCT complex is still locked down.”

Fort Stewart is home to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, approximately 15,000 active-duty Army soldiers, 400 other military members, and about 16,000 active-duty family members.

The base is located in Hinesville, Ga., about 30 miles southwest of Savannah.

Lubas' comments indicate the situation had the potential to rival two other shootings on bases in the last 16 years.

In November 2009 at Fort Hood, 13 were killed and 32 injured by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. The Army psychiatrist himself sustained injuries but survived.

In September 2013, a military contractor, Aaron Alexis, opened fire at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, D.C., killing 12 and injuring eight. Alexis was shot and killed by security officials.