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The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Fort Stewart shooting suspect was relentlessly mocked for stutter, soldiers say
A friend of the man accused of gunning down five fellow soldiers at the Fort Stewart army base in Georgia earlier this week recounted how the suspect had been repeatedly bullied for having a serious stutter, according to a news report. Meanwhile, soldiers who acted swiftly to suppress the gunman and prevent the possibility of a much higher death toll were being hailed as heroes for their bravery in the terrifying moments after shots rang out on the sprawling military base on Wednesday morning. The man in custody for the shooting, Sgt Quornelius Radford, 28, was relentlessly mocked and mimicked for his speech impediment, from the earliest days of his army career, NBC News reported on Thursday. 'He got bullied a lot. It was very bad to the point where he could barely talk,' Sgt Cameron Barrett, 28, a friend of Radford's, said in an interview with the TV network. No motive has been officially discussed in the aftermath of the incident, amid the criminal investigation, in which five service members were wounded by gunfire and rushed to hospital, although they are expected to recover. Another soldier who had worked alongside Radford earlier in his career said that the sergeant had also lost a loved one in a traffic accident in January, and had taken it hard. The suspect's father has said his son complained of experiencing racism. When initial reports that there was a shooting began to reach soldiers on the base south-east of Savannah, Barrett said to NBC that he messaged Radford to ask if he was alright, but did not get a response. Meanwhile, Sgt Aaron Turner recounted to the Associated Press that he was helping lock down a supply warehouse at Fort Stewart when he saw a fellow soldier walking past, wearing a hooded sweatshirt over his uniform and holding a handgun – after shots had already been fired. Instead of ducking for cover, Turner said, he approached the gunman and started talking – asking what he was doing there and where he was heading. When he got close enough, Turner grabbed the soldier's gun and took him to the floor, where soldiers held him down until military police arrived. 'I was able to keep a cool head, but pretty much my training ended up kicking in,' Turner said on Thursday. 'It wasn't about my life at that point. It was about the soldiers.' The US army secretary, Dan Driscoll, came to Fort Stewart on Thursday to praise Turner and five other soldiers for their quick actions in subduing the gunman to prevent further bloodshed and rendering life-saving aid to the victims. Driscoll awarded each of them the meritorious service medal. 'The fast action of these soldiers under stress and under trauma and under fire absolutely saved lives from being lost,' Driscoll told a news conference afterward. Authorities say Radford used a personal handgun in the shootings, not a service weapon. Fort Stewart officials have not said why he opened fire, citing the criminal investigation. Radford worked as a supply sergeant assigned to the 703rd brigade support battalion of the third infantry's 2nd armored brigade at Fort Stewart, the largest US army post east of the Mississippi River, and home to thousands of soldiers. The battalion's commander, Lt Col Mike Sanford, said on Thursday that he's unaware of any problems with Radford or arguments that preceded the shootings. 'Right now, there's no signs that there was an issue,' Sanford said in an interview. Radford's father, Eddie Radford of Jacksonville, Florida, said in an interview with the New York Times that his son had sought a transfer and complained to his family about racism at the base. Radford, who is Black, texted an aunt shortly before the shooting and 'said that he loved everybody, and that he'll be in a better place because he was about to go and do something', Eddie Radford said. Sgt Carlos Coleman, who worked with Radford early on after the latter joined the army in 2018, also spoke to NBC about the man's stutter. 'It was easy for those people to make fun of him for the way he spoke. After that, he really didn't speak that much,' he said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Fort Stewart shooting suspect was a hard worker who had been bullied over his stutter, Army soldiers say
The soldier accused of opening fire Wednesday at his Army base in Georgia, wounding five people, had endured relentless bullying over his stutter almost as soon as he joined the military, former co-workers said. Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, was picked on during the roughly two months in 2018 he spent at the Army's Advanced Individual Training (AIT) school at Fort Lee in Virginia, according to two people who served with him there. 'He got bullied a lot,' said Sgt. Cameron Barrett, 28, who became friends with Radford during that time. 'It was very bad to the point where he could barely talk.' Barrett said people would mock Radford by also pretending to have a stutter. He said the apparent speech impediment was a 'trigger' for Radford, who endured the mocking by being silent. Still, Radford showed no signs of anger, resentment or deeper issues, Barrett and other fellow soldiers said. And to those who got to know him, the reserved Radford shared a goofier and playful side, they said. So, they said, the Wednesday morning shooting at Fort Stewart came as a complete shock. When reports of an active shooter on base first surfaced, Barrett said he sent Radford a message on Snapchat, asking if he was OK. Radford did not respond. Hours later, Army officials identified Radford as the man suspected of using his personal handgun to allegedly shoot five of his co-workers shortly before 11 a.m. Radford worked as a logistics sergeant assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is based at Fort Stewart. The wounded soldiers were in stable condition Wednesday and are expected to recover. Three of the victims were released from hospitals on Wednesday, while two more, both women, were still being treated on Thursday, officials said. It's unclear whether the victims were subordinates or superiors of Radford. Army officials said a motive was unclear, as the investigation is ongoing. Radford, an automated logistical specialist assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Stewart, was tackled and subdued by fellow soldiers, which ended his alleged shooting rampage. Radford remained in custody Thursday and has been interviewed by the Army Criminal Investigation Division. The Jacksonville, Florida, native joined the Army in January 2018 and has not been deployed to combat, records showed. Some soldiers who met him that year in AIT school were left shocked and confused. They said Radford appeared laid back, despite being teased for his stutter. 'It was easy for those people to make fun of him for the way he spoke,' said Sgt. Carlos Coleman, who was in the same formation as Radford during that training. 'After that, he really didn't speak that much.' 'I just saw him get quiet,' Coleman, 27, added. 'I've never seen him angry. That's why I'm so surprised.' Barrett and Coleman said something else must have happened, since it had been years since the initial military bullying. 'I have questions, too,' Coleman said. 'I just want to know what pushed him to that point.' Coleman, who is now based in Washington state, said he stayed friends with Radford on Facebook and remembers Radford's last post on Jan. 28, when he expressed deep, residual heartache over losing a loved one in a wrong-way crash. 'I remember I couldn't speak after hearing that,' Radford wrote, according to a screenshot that Coleman shared with NBC News. Radford wrote that he cried and drank to 'make that pain feeling go away.' He described the loved one as a safe haven and someone who cared deeply about his present and future. 'I know you tried to keep me on a good path when I was hanging out in the streets,' he wrote. 'I remember the nights you were scared when I was going down that road and I'm truly sorry for putting you through that.' Radford's former co-workers described him as a normal and playful person and a hardworking soldier. 'He was good as a soldier and a person, to me,' Coleman said. 'There were never any red flags about him. He did what he was told.' In a Facebook post that has since been taken down, QuaSondra Cobb, who used to work with Radford, shared a video of the two racing to be the first to eat a Fruit by the Foot snack last year. 'It was lunch time and we were just goofing around,' Cobb told NBC News. 'My interactions with him were always like that.' Cobb, who was Radford's superior until roughly a year ago, when they both moved to different units, said she was heartbroken and at a loss for words. Radford, she said, didn't show stress or anger and did not appear to have issues with co-workers. 'I've never gotten that from him,' she said. 'He was a hard worker. If he had any issues, he would come to me, ask for advice. I just didn't see that coming.' Radford's father, Eddie Radford, could not be reached Thursday and declined to comment Wednesday evening, telling NBC News it was a 'bad time' to talk. The suspect's father told The New York Times that his son had been trying to transfer out of Fort Stewart, where he had experienced racism. Eddie Radford said his son texted his aunt Wednesday morning, saying that 'he loved everybody, and that he'll be in a better place because he was about to go and do something,' the Times reported. This article was originally published on
