Military prosecutors on Tuesday announced attempted premeditated murder charges against the 28-year-old sergeant who allegedly shot five fellow soldiers at Georgia’s Fort Stewart last week.
Sgt. Quornelius S. Radford, of Jacksonville, is also facing charges of attempted unpremeditated murder, domestic violence, aggravated assault inflicting grievous bodily harm, and aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon, according to the U.S. Army Office of Special Trial Counsel.
The office did not identify what penalties those charges carry, though it accused Radford of shooting at a sixth soldier assigned to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team.
Radford’s military defense attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comments Tuesday afternoon.
A judge advocate will be assigned to conduct Radford’s preliminary hearing, review evidence, determine if there is probable cause for each charge, and issue a report.
Army prosecutors will consider that report along with the evidence to determine whether to refer the charges to a general court-martial. If the charges are referred, the case will be assigned to a military judge, who will schedule an arraignment and trial date.
Radford is an automated logistics sergeant assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team. He was being held in the Liberty County Jail in Hinesville Tuesday. But military prosecutors said he would be transferred to the Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston at Joint Base Charleston in South Carolina.
Officials have not identified the five injured soldiers. Three were released from hospitals last week. On Tuesday, one remained at Winn Army Community Hospital, and another was still being cared for at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. Both were in stable condition.
Last week, the military honored six soldiers at Fort Stewart with a Meritorious Service Medal for their heroic actions responding to the shooting. Some helped restrain Radford, according to the military, while others provided lifesaving medical care to the wounded.
Radford’s father, Eddie Radford, of Jacksonville, told The New York Times last week that his son had been seeking a transfer and had complained to his family of racism at Fort Stewart, where he had been stationed for several years. He added his son, who is Black, sent a text message to his aunt on Wednesday morning, which “said that he loved everybody, and that he’ll be in a better place because he was about to go and do something.”
Radford also told the newspaper his son did not have a history of serious mental health issues, though he sometimes dealt with depression tied to the death of his mother, which happened when he was a child.
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