Minutes before gunfire erupted at Fort Stewart, the shooting suspect texted his family saying ‘I love y’all,’ uncle says

By Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN

(CNN) — “I just want y’all to know that I love y’all, and I tried my hardest to be the best I could be,” Sgt. Quornelius Samentrio Radford texted his relatives at least 20 minutes before he began shooting at fellow soldiers earlier this week at his military base in Georgia.

“My time is slowly coming to an end. I choose my destiny and my faith. I might not be with my mama, but I’m gonna be in a better place,” the enigmatic group text message read, his uncle, Joe Mitchell, told CNN affiliate WTLV.

Radford, 28, wounded five of his peers at Fort Stewart Army base with a personal handgun before he was subdued by other soldiers nearby, authorities have said. All five soldiers are in stable condition, Brig. Gen. John Lubas, the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division, said at a news conference Wednesday.

“Please don’t talk like that,” one message in response to Radford said. “Call me, don’t talk like this bro,” another said. “Don’t do whatever going on, you gonna be okay,” a different family member wrote.

But despite desperate pleas from family members, what unfolded after Radford’s messages has left many loved ones with looming questions over what led up to the shooting, his motive, and how someone they know to be a kind and loving family guy could commit such violence.

Subjected to bullying and racism, family and friends say

Radford joined the Army in 2018 as an automated logistical specialist and was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, the US Army said. His role involved handling supplies and warehouse operations and he had not deployed to a combat zone, Lubas, the general said.

The native Floridian had been arrested for driving under the influence in May – an arrest his chain of command didn’t know about before the incident, Lubas said.

Radford had no known behavioral incidents in his military record, according to the general.

A day before the shooting, Radford had a disagreement with one of the shooting victims, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the case. It’s unclear what the disagreement was about.

He followed that coworker to a maintenance area on Wednesday and shot him in the chest before shooting four others.

While Radford’s motive remains unknown, details about his character and issues he faced in and out of the workplace have emerged from loved ones and former coworkers.

His father, Eddie Radford, told The New York Times that he hadn’t noticed any unusual behavior from his son recently and didn’t know what might have motivated the shooting.

He did, however, say his son had complained to the family about racism at Fort Stewart and had been seeking a transfer, according to the Times, which did not publish any specifics. CNN has reached out to Eddie Radford for more information.

Fort Stewart declined to comment on the racism allegation and whether Radford had requested a transfer. “The circumstances that led to the events (on Wednesday) are currently under investigation,” a spokesperson for the 3rd Infantry Division told CNN.

As Radford’s military career began in 2018, so did relentless bullying over his stutter, two former coworkers told NBC. Sneh Patel, an attorney that represented Radford during his DUI case, also confirmed to CNN that “he has a stuttering condition,” although he wouldn’t disclose much more due to client-attorney privilege, he said.

“He got bullied a lot,” Sgt. Cameron Barrett, who became friends with Radford during an Army training program, told NBC. “It was very bad to the point where he could barely talk.”

People would mock Radford by also pretending to have a stutter, Barrett said, adding the apparent speech impediment was a “trigger” for Radford, but he endured the treatment by being silent, showing no signs of anger or resentment, Barrett and other soldiers told the network.

CNN has reached out to those soldiers for more information.

Waiting for a charging decision

Since the shooting, Radford has been interviewed by the Army Criminal Investigation Division and is now sitting in pretrial confinement as he waits for a charging decision by the Office of the Special Trial Counsel, Lubas said Wednesday afternoon.

As for his family, Mitchell told WTLV he’s still asking himself questions, even days after the shooting.

“I was just one phone call away,” Mitchell said. “I wish we could have talked about it, and it would have never happened. But we just leave it in God’s hands.”

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CNN’s Danya Gainor and Mark Morales contributed to this report.