FORT STEWART, Ga. (AP) — A sergeant shot five soldiers Wednesday at one the country’s largest Army bases before he was quickly tackled by other Fort Stewart troops, forcing a brief lockdown, officials said.
Few details were immediately available about what led to the gunfire, but officials said the shooter was Sgt. Quornelius Radford, 28, who used a personal handgun, not a military firearm.
Radford opened fire where he worked but officials wouldn’t speculate about a motive, authorities said.
The injured soldiers are stable and expected to recover, said Brig Gen. John Lubas. The soldiers who tackled Radford helped ensure his arrest, said Lubas, who commands the 3rd Infantry Division.
“These soldiers, without a doubt, prevented further casualties or wounded,” he said.
This latest act of violence on a U.S. military installation — sites that are supposed to be among the most secure in the country — again raised concerns about safety and security within the armed forces’ own walls.
The Army said it’s investigating the shooting. There were still many unanswered questions, including the scope of the injuries and the shooter’s motive.
I’m not sure where you live, but in my state the requirements for a CCW are ridiculously low. Literally anyone who can legally own a firearm can get one. You don’t need to have any training at all. You just have to pass a background check and pay a fee. There is no “routine vetting”.
I’d love a source for that. I know it’s true that, statistically CCW holders are less likely to commit a crime than the general population. However, it’s also true that there are thousands of documented cases of CCW holders using their weapon for murder or suicide (or both) rather than self defense over the last two decades: https://concealedcarrykillers.org/
There is no comprehensive list of instances where a CCW holder actually used their weapon in defense, so we really don’t know what the statistics say about likelihood.