An active-duty sergeant opened fire at Fort Stewart in Georgia on Wednesday, wounding five fellow soldiers before being tackled and disarmed by unarmed colleagues, according to military officials. The heroic intervention prevented what Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said could have been a much more severe tragedy.
The incident unfolded during what had been a routine duty day. 1st Sgt. Joshua Arnold was in a conference room when he heard gunshots. After stepping into the hallway and finding a spent shell casing, he encountered one of the victims. Nearby, Staff Sgt. Melissa Taylor, a former combat medic, heard Arnold yelling about gunshots and saw smoke and a wounded soldier in the hall. “I immediately sprinted over to the soldier and got down on my knees and started rendering aid,” Taylor said.
As Taylor and others administered first aid, a group of unarmed soldiers ran toward the sound of the gunfire to confront the shooter. According to authorities, Staff Sgt. Aaron Turner was the first to engage the suspect, attempting to talk to him before physically intervening. Turner said the suspect was still trying to reload his weapon as they grappled. “I was able to disarm him, drop the magazine and eject the round,” Turner recalled.
Master Sgt. Justin Thomas helped Turner restrain the gunman, while two other combat medics, Staff Sgt. Robert Pacheco and Sgt. Eve Rodarte, also provided critical aid. On Thursday, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll awarded all the soldiers involved the Meritorious Service Medal. “Under duress and fire, they ran into battle to the sound of the gunfire, took down the assailant, and then took care of their comrades,” Driscoll said.
The suspect was identified as Sgt. Quornelius Samentrio Radford, 28, an automated logistical specialist assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team since joining the Army in 2018. Investigators are looking into the motive. A law enforcement official told CNN that Radford had a disagreement with one of the victims the day before the attack. He allegedly followed that coworker to a maintenance area and shot him before shooting four others.
Radford’s father told The New York Times that his son had complained of racism at Fort Stewart and had sought a transfer, though base officials declined to comment on the allegations. While Radford had no combat deployments or known behavioral incidents on his military record, Brig. Gen. John Lubas acknowledged that he had been arrested on suspicion of a DUI in May, an incident of which his command was unaware.
The weapon used was a 9mm Glock handgun the suspect had personally purchased in Florida in May. It is unclear how Radford brought the personal firearm onto the installation, as carrying such weapons on base is typically prohibited by military regulations.
Two female soldiers remain hospitalized. One is in stable condition at Winn Army Community Hospital and is expected to be released soon. The other faces a longer recovery, though officials report her doctors are optimistic.
Radford is in pretrial confinement and will be tried by the Army’s Office of Special Trial Counsel. He faces a court-martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth both stated that the perpetrator would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
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