Army Sgt. Quornelius S. Radford was convicted on two counts of attempted premeditated murder and four counts of attempted unpremeditated murder. (U.S. Army)
A military judge has sentenced Army Sgt. Quornelius S. Radford to spend the rest of his life in prison for attempted murder in the August 2025 shootings that left five people wounded at Fort Stewart, Ga.
The sentence was for six consecutive life terms with the possibility of parole. The sentence was confirmed Tuesday by the Army Office of the Special Trial Counsel at Fort Belvoir, Va. The office prosecutes the most serious violent and sex crime charges against soldiers.
The conviction included two counts of attempted premeditated murder and four counts of attempted unpremeditated murder.
“Today’s life sentence reflects the profound betrayal at the heart of this case,” said Maj. Matthew Fields, a prosecutor with the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel. “Soldiers are trained to face danger from the enemy, not from those standing beside them in formation. Sgt. Radford turned his weapon on his own unit, shooting fellow soldiers, including members of his leadership, shattering the trust that is essential to every military organization.
“This sentence recognizes not only the immense suffering inflicted on the victims and their families, but also the extraordinary breach of trust that struck at the core of military service.”
Radford was also sentenced to a reduction in rank to E-1, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a dishonorable discharge.
Radford, 29, assigned to the 703rd Brigade Support Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, said during a March hearing that he was suicidal at the time of the attack in which he wounded his civilian boyfriend, Raekwon Smith, and four others at the base.
Radford insisted during his court-martial that he did not intend to kill anyone. He said he wanted to get into a shootout with military police officers when he opened fire at the logistics unit at Fort Stewart.
Radford earlier pleaded guilty to domestic violence and aggravated assault charges.
The judge, Army Col. Gregory Batdorff, accepted the plea, but prosecutors from the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel said they intended to try Radford on attempted murder charges.
Prosecutors argued that Radford targeted leaders of his unit when he opened fire with a personal handgun. They also argued that Radford knew from his military firearms training never to shoot at anyone unless he meant to kill them.
Radford told Batdorff he had been arguing with his live-in boyfriend the morning of Aug. 6, 2025 when he grabbed his personal 9mm Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun and headed to the headquarters of his unit.
The soldier intended to shoot two of his noncommissioned officers, he told the judge. But Smith, apparently intent on stopping Radford’s assault, followed him onto Fort Stewart in his vehicle. After exiting his car, Radford turned and fired a shot into Smith’s car, hitting him in the chest.
“I didn’t intend to harm him,” Radford said. “But I didn’t care if I harmed him.”
Radford then walked into the 703rd headquarters building and entered 1st Sgt. Taniesha Jeter’s office, where he shot her once in the stomach before turning his weapon toward his platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Justin Jones, and fired again. The round missed Jones and instead struck Staff Sgt. Luis Garza in the chest.
Radford testified he then fired a third shot from the office doorway when he heard a noise coming from the next room over. That round struck Staff Sgt. Arysa Friends in the arm and entered the side of her body.
After firing those shots, Radford said he began jogging down a hallway and was startled when a door opened.
“I blindly fired a round into that door,” he told the judge.
The round struck the doorframe, sending shrapnel flying into Sgt. Abdulbakai Latifu’s face, leaving a permanent scar.
Radford was tackled and disarmed by other soldiers shortly after firing that last shot.
Unarmed and without protective gear, the noncommissioned officers held down the accused shooter — Radford — until law enforcement officers arrived and arrested him. Other units’ members gave first aid to the shooting victims until emergency responders arrived.
Those soldiers received commendations from Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
Dr. Morgan Williamson, a radiologist who examined X-rays of the soldiers’ injuries, testified that one was shot in the face and another in the chest, while bullets stuck other victims in the back and abdomen. Williamson said any of those wounds could have been fatal, according to the Associated Press.
All the shooting victims survived the assault, but Jeter’s injuries will force her to retire from the Army, officials said.
Radford enlisted in the Army in 2018 as an automated logistics specialist, according to the Army. He served at Fort Hood, Texas, and in South Korea before joining his unit at Fort Stewart in November 2022.
Radford will serve his confinement at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
Contributing: Stars and Stripes reporter Corey Dickstein
