Five soldiers were shot “in an active shooter incident in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area” of the Fort Stewart base Wednesday.
The injured soldiers “were treated on-site and moved to Winn Army Community Hospital for further treatment,” according to a base statement.
The shooter, a 28-year-old male U.S. Army sergeant, was taken into custody at 11:35 a.m. EDT. (READ MORE ABOUT HIM HERE)
A press conference is happening at 3:30 pm ET. Brig. Gen. John Lubas, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, is expected to answer reporters’ questions.
Update (3:48 ET)
Here is what we learned during the press conference:
- All five wounded soldiers are in stable condition.Three of the soldiers required surgery, and two were taken to Memorial Hospital in Savannah, Georgia, for additional care
- The motive of the suspected soldier is still uncknown. “We’re still not certain about the motivation, but again, he’s been interviewed by Army investigators and we believe we’ll gain more information here shortly,” Lubas said. The incident was likely not related to a training event.
- The suspected shooter had previously been arrested for driving under the influence, and he did not inform his chain of command about that. “That was unknown to his chain of command until the event occurred and we and we started looking into the law enforcement databases,” Lubas said.
- The suspected shooter used a personal handgun. “I can I can confirm it was not a military weapon. And we believe it was a personal handgun,” Lubas said.
- A group of heroic soldiers who were nearby immediately took action when the shooting started. “Soldiers in the area that witnessed the shooting immediately and without hesitation tackled the soldier, subdued him. That allowed law enforcement to then take him into custody,” Lubas said.
WATCH:
UPDATE: Disturbing new details emerge about Georgia base shooter
