Preferred charges announced for alleged Fort Stewart shooter

by Shea Schrader

HINESVILLE, Ga. (WTOC) - [UPDATE]: The sergeant accused of shooting five of his fellow soldiers at Fort Stewart last Wednesday now faces attempted murder charges.

The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel preferred charges against Sgt. Quornelius Radford Tuesday in a pre-trial confinement review following last week’s shooting.

In a press release, Fort Stewart officials said “Radford allegedly shot and wounded five soldiers and shot at a sixth soldier, all of whom are assigned to 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division.”

His charges are as follows:

Two specifications of attempted premeditated murder
Four specifications of attempted unpremeditated murder
One specification of domestic violence
Three specifications of aggravated assault inflicting grievous bodily harm
Three specifications of aggravated assault with a dangerous weapon in violation of Articles 80, 128 and 128b of the Uniform Code of Military Justice

Radford has been at the Liberty County Jail since the shooting, but he will now be transferred to Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston at Joint Base Charleston for pre-trial confinement.

Previous Coverage:

We’re getting the latest updates on the shooting that sent Fort Stewart into lockdown last week.

Tuesday, Sgt. Quornelius Radford, who’s accused of shooting five fellow soldiers, had his first hearing in military court.

Sgt. Radford appeared for what’s known as a pre-trial confinement hearing.

It’s similar to a bond hearing in civilian court.

According to AJ Balbo, a former Fort Stewart JAG, in a pre-trial confinement hearing, a soldier accused of a crime goes before a Military Magistrate- which is a judge that specifically handles pre-trial matters.

Balbo said the only reason the military generally keeps soldiers behind bars is if they’re considered a flight risk, or a danger to the community- so it’s very likely Radford will stay behind bars.

“Could he commit other misconduct such as intimidation of witnesses or destruction of evidence? So that initial determination is made usually by soldier’s chain of command, but within seven days there has to be this pre-trial confinement review that really is more of a review than a hearing,” said Balbo.

A plea is not entered at a pre-trial confinement hearing, but according to the Coastal Courier, Radford is facing attempted murder and aggravated assault charges.

You may be asking, why we were not at the hearing.

All outlets received notification from the military at 11:05 a.m. that the hearing would happen at noon- and we were asked to be at the gate of Fort Stewart at 11:40 a.m. to be escorted on post.

Our station is in Savannah and we couldn’t make it down there in time.

Records of military trials are not public in the same way that civilian cases are.