Army sergeant convicted of attempted murder in Georgia base shootings that wounded 5
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FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — An Army sergeant was found guilt of attempted murder Thursday in shootings last summer that wounded five people at a base in southeast Georgia.
A military judge at Fort Stewart handed down his verdict in the court-martial of Sgt. Quornelius Radford, local news outlets reported. Army prosecutors accused Radford of targeting leaders of his supply unit when he opened fire with a personal handgun last August.
Radford, 29, wounded four fellow soldiers and his then-fiancé, Raekwon Smith, who testified during the two-day trial that he had followed Radford onto Fort Stewart fearing the soldier was suicidal. Smith said Radford shot him in the torso before entering his unit’s office building and shooting others.
Radford admitted to carrying out the shootings in March when he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault and domestic violence. But he insisted he never intended to kill anyone, and Army prosecutors pressed ahead with trying Radford on charges of attempted murder.
Trial witnesses described how Radford walked to two offices and a conference room as he shot four soldiers, but he told others he encountered to leave, WSAV-TV reported. He was apprehended by military police after being restrained and disarmed by fellow soldiers.
A radiologist who examined X-rays of the soldiers’ injuries testified one was shot in the face and another in the chest, while bullets stuck other victims in the back and abdomen. Dr. Morgan Williamson said any of those wounds could have been fatal, WTOC-TV reported.
Prosecutors argued that Radford knew from his military firearms training never to shoot at anyone unless he meant to kill them.
Defense attorneys said Radford was suicidal and opened fire to provoke a showdown with police, hoping they would kill him.
“Radford only wanted one person to die that day, himself,” said Lt. Col. Dylan Mack, one of Radford’s Army lawyers.
Radford opted for his trial to be decided by a military judge rather than a jury of soldiers. The judge scheduled a sentencing hearing for Monday. Under military law, attempted murder carries a potential penalty of life imprisonment.
The largest Army post east of the Mississippi River, Fort Stewart is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division. It is located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) southwest of Savannah.
Radford served as a supply sergeant in the division’s 2nd Armored Brigade. Army records show he enlisted in 2018.