Soldier accused in Fort Stewart mass shooting pleads not guilty

FORT STEWART, Ga. (WTOC) - A soldier accused of carrying out a mass shooting on Fort Stewart in August has plead not guilty.

SEE: Fort Stewart shooting details; 5 soldiers shot, suspect in custody

Sgt. Quornelius Radford has been charged with thirteen specifications, including attempted murder, assault, and domestic violence in connection to the shooting. He was arraigned on those charges on Friday.

Military judge Colonel Gregory Batdorff presided over the arraignment virtually from Fort Bragg. Before asking for Radford’s plea, Colonel Batdorff asked whether Radford preferred trial by court members- the military equivalent of a jury trial- or trial by judge. Radford deferred that decision to a later time.

The only time during the arraignment Radford, who was in uniform, stood was when he entered his plea. Every other time he spoke to the judge, he stayed seated.

There were at least 10 uniformed military members in the courtroom as Radford entered his plea, and some civilians dressed in plainclothes.

Radford is accused of shooting five fellow soldiers on Fort Stewart and shooting at a sixth person. All those soldiers were assigned to the Second Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division. Radford has been held in pretrial confinement at the Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston since his last court appearance, which was days after the shooting.

Colonel Batdorff set Radford’s trial date to June 15th, 2026. He tentatively set jury selection, should Radford choose trial by court members, for June 11-12, 2026. The Colonel also ruled there must be pre-trial conference between counsel before February 13.

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