OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:50 PM – Thursday, August 7, 2025
Secretary of the U.S. Army Dan Driscoll commended the extraordinary valor and decisive response demonstrated by six soldiers who courageously confronted and subdued an active mass shooter at Fort Stewart on Wednesday.
He underscored that their swift and selfless actions not only averted further tragedy, but also exemplify the highest standards of military discipline and readiness.
The shooting transpired on Wednesday, resulting in the base being placed on lockdown for over an hour after the suspected gunman, Sgt. Quornelius Samentrio Radford, opened fire, shooting 5 soldiers. Radford used a personal handgun to carry out the shooting, and he has since been taken into custody.
During his speech at Fort Stewart on Thursday, Army Secretary Driscoll praised the 6 soldiers who “put themselves in harms way” to subdue the shooter.
“The fast action of these soldiers, under stress and under trauma and under fire, absolutely saved lives from being lost,” Driscoll stated, going on to praise the soldiers for their act of “heroism.”
“Just think about this: They were unarmed and ran at and tackled an armed person who they knew was actively shooting their buddies, their colleagues, their fellow soldiers. Another soldier jumped on top of the person to subdue them until federal law enforcement was able to arrive,” he continued.
“These American soldiers highly exactly what the Army has been to this country,” Driscoll added. “It has been there during some of the darkest moments of this nation’s history, and it has been there and stood strong and acted on behalf of American citizens.”
Of the 5 soldiers shot, three of them were released from hospitals on Wednesday, while two of them, both female soldiers, were still being treated for their wounds on Thursday.
Driscoll presented medals to the soldiers who subdued the suspect and provided care to the injured soldiers during a ceremony on Thursday.
Army Brig. Gen. John Lubas stated that the shooting occurred just before 11 a.m., prior to Radford being apprehended at 11:35 a.m. Lubas also noted that it is currently not clear how Radford was able to bring an outside weapon through security and onto the base.
Radford had been stationed at Fort Stewart since 2022, though he has never been deployed to combat. He was also recently arrested for a DUI, but oddly, the arrest was “unknown to his chain of command until the [shooting] occurred,” according to Lubas.
Radford’s motive has yet to be determined.
Eddie Radford, the father of the suspect, told the press that his son was previously seeking transfer, and that he had complained to his relatives about “racism” at Fort Stewart.
“It’s hard for me to process,” The older Radford told the New York Times.
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