FORT STEWART, Ga. — An unarmed soldier tackled the gunman who opened fire at Fort Stewart before five others leaped into action to subdue the shooter and render lifesaving medical care to victims, officials said Thursday.
Decisive action by Sgt. Aaron Turner and his fellow soldiers quickly brought Sgt. Quornelius Samentrio Radford, the suspected shooter, under control and helped get victims to the hospital in time to save their lives, officials said.
"One of the soldiers tackled the person," Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll told reporters.
"So just think about this: They were unarmed and ran at and tackled an armed person who they know knew was actively shooting their buddies, their colleagues, their fellow soldiers. Another soldier jumped on top of the person to subdue them until federal law enforcement was able to arrive."
Turner is an automated logistical specialist from Farmington, New Mexico, the Army said.
Master Sgt. Justin Thomas, a senior enlisted maintenance supervisor from Kingwood, Texas, then helped "Sgt. Turner restrain the assailant, working as a team to prevent additional harm during the dangerous situation," according to an Army statement.
The Army credited 1st Sgt. Joshua Arnold, Staff Sgt. Melissa Taylor, Sgt. Eve Rodarte and Staff Sgt. Robert Pacheco with rendering immediate medical care to the wounded.
"We talked to doctors and one of the things that I can say, unequivocally, is that the fast action of these soldiers, under stress and under trauma and under fire, absolutely saved lives from being lost," Driscoll said.
All of the victims survived their wounds 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.
One of those still-hospitalized soldiers was "doing very well, in high spirits" at Winn Army Community Hospital and could go home this weekend, said Brig. Gen. John Lubas, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division.
The other shooting victim at Savannah Memorial Community Hospital has "a little bit longer road," but doctors are confident she'll make a complete recovery, according to Lubas.
Sgt. Radford, 28, remained in custody on Thursday. He joined the Army in January of 2018, is listed as an automated logistical specialist, assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Fort Stewart, records showed.
The army base is about 40 miles southwest of Savannah.
Priya Sridhar and Dan Gallo reported from Fort Stewart, Georgia, and David K. Li from New York City.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
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