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\n Fort Stewart in Georgia houses the US Army\u2019s vaunted 3rd Infantry Division, a premier fighting force roughly 20,000 soldiers strong.\n <\/p>\n
\n It was at the headquarters of the division\u2019s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, described by the Army as its \u201cmost lethal and fit\u201d<\/a> armored brigade combat unit \u2014 formidably equipped with tanks and modern artillery systems \u2014 where five soldiers were wounded Wednesday when authorities said a 28-year-old active-duty sergeant pulled out a personal weapon and opened fire.\n <\/p>\n \n The latest shooting at a US military fortress long accustomed to guarding against external threats demonstrates that no amount of physical security can totally protect soldiers when the threat comes from within, according to experts.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI just don\u2019t think there\u2019s any way to ever prepare for every single possible insider threat,\u201d said Robert Capovilla, a former military prosecutor and partner in a law firm representing current and former service members.\n <\/p>\n \n Still, the violence has renewed concerns about the safety of American service members at facilities where they live, train and work. And, when coupled with other high-profile shootings at military bases<\/a> in recent years, the rarity of such incidents offers little solace to the victims and families of soldiers hurt or killed by other service members.\n <\/p>\n \n For Nichole Hillman \u2014 whose husband Nathan, an Army sergeant with the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, was shot and killed by another soldier<\/a> at Fort Stewart in 2022 \u2014 the latest shooting was \u201cterrifying and completely heartbreaking.\u201d Nathan Hillman and the alleged gunman both served in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, nicknamed the Spartan Brigade.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI was sick over it, as it brought back so much pain and fear, and had me reliving one of the absolute worst days of my life,\u201d she told CNN via Facebook Messenger.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cOur soldiers shouldn\u2019t have to fear going to work. They should be able to know 100% for a fact they are safe.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The military has mandated active shooter and \u201cinsider threat\u201d training following a series of deadly mass shootings at American bases, including one in 2009 at the Fort Hood Army post<\/a> in Texas, in which 13 people and an unborn child were killed and more than 30 others wounded.\n <\/p>\n \n At Fort Stewart on Wednesday, authorities said, unarmed soldiers ran toward the sound of gunshots and tackled the suspect, subduing him and halting a shooting Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said could have been much more severe were it not for their bravery.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cUnder duress and fire, they ran into battle to the sound of the gunfire, took down the assailant, and then took care of their comrades. And that made all the difference,\u201d Driscoll said Thursday at Fort Stewart, where he awarded six soldiers the Meritorious Service Medal for their actions.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe commit to you that anything we discover during the investigation that can make this base and other bases like it safer, we will act on as quickly as possible,\u201d Driscoll added.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe are constantly looking at our security protocols at all of our bases \u2026 We absolutely will want to learn from this investigation. We do not want something like this to ever happen again at an Army base.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Last year, Fort Stewart\u2019s military police simulated<\/a> an active shooter and hostage rescue exercise. The drills have been routine at US military bases for years and include topics such as what to do before, during and after an active shooter incident. On Wednesday, Fort Stewart was briefly put on lockdown.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThe fact that the base was put on lockdown so quickly shows that the installation had practiced this kind of an event, and they knew what procedures they needed to implement in order to minimize the impact of this active shooter incident,\u201d said Cedric Leighton, a retired Air Force colonel and CNN military analyst. \u201cThe response clearly had been practiced.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The motive for the shooting was not known. A law enforcement official briefed on the case told CNN the shooter, identified as Quornelius Samentrio Radford, had a disagreement with one of the victims on Tuesday. He followed that coworker to a maintenance area and shot him in the chest before shooting four others on Wednesday. It\u2019s unclear what the disagreement was about.\n <\/p>\n \n Law enforcement responded at 10:56 a.m. ET, according to a Facebook post from Fort Stewart Hunter Army Airfield. Less than 10 minutes later, the base was locked down. Emergency personnel were sent to treat the victims at 11:09 a.m., the post said.\n <\/p>\n \n The unarmed soldiers who intervened \u201cprevented further casualties\u201d by tackling Radford, allowing police to arrest him, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, Fort Stewart\u2019s senior commander.\n <\/p>\n \n The soldiers handled the scene like a \u201cbattle drill,\u201d according to Lt. Col. Mike Sanford, the commander of the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion.\n <\/p>\n \n Active shooter training <\/a>instructs soldiers on what to do <\/strong>before, during, and after shootings \u2014 including helping others evacuate, not moving the wounded, creating barricades and, as a last resort, using \u201cwhatever means possible to overpower the subject to save further lives.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Military bases have strict regulations<\/a> on the possession and storage of personal weapons.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m not sure by allowing soldiers to carry their personal firearms with them in a professional capacity while they\u2019re doing their jobs prevents what happened at Fort Stewart,\u201d Capovilla said.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cOur military personnel that live and work on military installations, by and large, I would consider them to be in highly secure and safe facilities.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The November 5, 2009, shooting at Fort Hood by an Army psychiatrist<\/a> with radical Islamist beliefs<\/a> forced the military to evaluate \u201cnot just the tactical-level response that happened at Fort Hood specifically, but also the processes and systems and policies that were in place for the Department of Defense as a whole that could have led to what happened,\u201d Mary \u201cChris\u201d Frels, deputy provost marshal for US Army North said one year after the shooting.\n <\/p>\n \n After Fort Hood, Frels said, the military reevaluated its risk assessment process to consider both internal and external threats.\n <\/p>\n \n A huge part of the training involves teaching service members to identify behaviors<\/a> in colleagues who may be spiraling \u2014 which could be early warning signs of a potential \u201cinsider threat.\u201d The risk indicators range from declining performance rating to demotions, from threats of violence to suicidal ideation to criminal behavior.\n <\/p>\n \n Authorities this week would not speculate about Radford\u2019s motives. He had not deployed to a combat zone and had no known behavioral incidents on his military record, Lubas said.\n <\/p>\n \n The general acknowledged Radford was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in May. Radford\u2019s chain of command was unaware of the arrest prior to Wednesday\u2019s shooting, Lubas said.\n <\/p>\n \n The suspect\u2019s father, Eddie Radford, told The New York Times<\/a> he had not noticed unusual behavior by his son recently. He did not know what might have motivated the shooting, but said his son had complained about racism at Fort Stewart and had been seeking a transfer, according to the Times, which did not cite any specifics. CNN has reached out to Eddie Radford for more information.\n <\/p>\n \n Fort Stewart declined to comment on the racism allegation and whether Radford had requested a transfer. \u201cThe circumstances that led to the events today are currently under investigation,\u201d a spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division told CNN.\n <\/p>\n \n Authorities are unsure how Radford got his personal firearm through the base\u2019s high security before carrying out the shooting, although personnel with authorized access are typically not searched en masse unless an installation has increased its security posture in response to potential threats<\/a>. Carrying personal firearms on base is typically prohibited.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cFrom a company, battalion, or brigade commander\u2019s perspective, I think it would be very hard to enforce good order and discipline if the soldiers were allowed to carry their personal weapons with them at all times,\u201d Capovilla said.\n <\/p>\n \n Radford had texted his relatives at least 20 minutes before he began shooting<\/a>, his uncle, Joe Mitchell, told CNN affiliate WTLV<\/a>: \u201cI just want y\u2019all to know that I love y\u2019all, and I tried my hardest to be the best I could be.\u201d\n <\/p>\n![\"Sgt.](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ap25219103237223.jpg\")
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