Army Sergeant Convicted of Attempted Murder in Georgia Base Shootings

Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 29, was found guilty of attempted murder on Thursday following a court-martial at Fort Stewart, Georgia, for shootings that wounded five people in August 2025. A military judge delivered the verdict after a two-day trial in which prosecutors accused Radford of targeting leaders of his supply unit when he opened fire with a personal handgun. The incident left four fellow soldiers and his then-fiancé, Raekwon Smith, injured. Smith testified that he had followed Radford onto the base out of concern that the soldier was suicidal, and that Radford shot him in the torso before entering the unit's office building to shoot others.

Radford admitted to carrying out the shootings in March and pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and domestic violence charges, but he maintained he never intended to kill anyone. Trial witnesses described how Radford walked through two offices and a conference room while shooting four soldiers, but instructed others he encountered to leave. He was apprehended by military police after fellow soldiers restrained and disarmed him. A radiologist testified that one victim was shot in the face, another in the chest, and others in the back and abdomen—any of which could have been fatal. Prosecutors argued that Radford's military firearms training made clear that soldiers should never shoot at anyone unless they intend to kill.

Radford's defense attorneys claimed he was suicidal and opened fire to provoke a confrontation with police in hopes of being killed himself. "Radford only wanted one person to die that day, himself," said Lt. Col. Dylan Mack, one of his lawyers. Radford chose to have his trial decided by a military judge rather than a jury of soldiers. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Monday, with attempted murder under military law carrying a potential penalty of life imprisonment.

Radford served as a supply sergeant in the 2nd Armored Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, having enlisted in 2018. Fort Stewart, located approximately 40 miles southwest of Savannah, is the largest Army post east of the Mississippi River and is home to thousands of soldiers.