Army sergeant arrested over shooting at US military base
Source: C-SPAN
Five soldiers have been shot and wounded at one of America’s largest army bases in an attack that triggered a lockdown.
The shooting unfolded at Fort Stewart, in Georgia, where 10,000 people live, including soldiers, their families and civilian staff.
Officials said the suspected shooter was male US army sergeant Quornelius Radford, 28, who has since been taken into custody.
Radford reportedly shot at soldiers known to him using a personal handgun — not a military firearm — in what was suspected to be a targeted attack on Wednesday (local time).
He was tackled and stopped by “brave” soldiers who helped ensure his arrest, Brigadier General John Lubas said.
The injured soldiers were stable and expected to recover, Lubas said.
“These soldiers, without a doubt, prevented further casualties or wounded,” he said.
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This latest act of violence on a US military installation — sites that are supposed to be among the most secure in the country — again raised concerns about safety and security within the armed forces’ own walls.
The army said it was investigating the shooting.
Police were sent to the 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team complex shortly before 11am Wednesday (local time). Radford was arrested 35 minutes later.
The lockdown lasted about an hour.
White House and Defence Department officials said President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had been briefed on the shooting.
The Fort Stewart military base, in Georgia, is one of the largest in the US. Photo: AAP
“Five soldiers were shot today in an active shooter incident in the 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team area,” Fort Stewart Hunter Army Airfield said in a Facebook post.
“All soldiers were treated on-site and moved to Winn Army Community Hospital for further treatment.
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“There is no active threat to the community.”
The lockdown, which lifted at 12.10pm, took in the base as well as Fort Stewart’s three elementary schools and schools in Liberty County.
The fort’s schools have nearly 1400 students, according to the Department of Defence.
Located about 64 kilometres south-west of Savannah, Fort Stewart is the largest US Army post east of the Mississippi River.
It’s home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division and family members.
Among the deadliest acts of violence on US military bases was a 2009 attack.
A US Army psychiatrist killed 13 people in a shooting that left more than 30 wounded at Fort Hood, a military installation in Texas.
In 2013, a defence contract worker and former Navy reservist killed 12 people at the Washington Navy Yard. He was then killed in a gun battle with police.
In 2014, a soldier opened fire on his fellow service members at Fort Hood, killing three people and wounding more than a dozen others before the gunman killed himself.
In 2019, an aviation student opened fire in a classroom at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, killing three people and injuring another dozen people including two sheriff’s deputies.
Just days earlier, a US Navy sailor shot two people to death before killing himself at Pearl Harbour, the Naval station in Hawaii.
-with AAP
