Georgia military base shooting suspect formally charged

The sergeant accused of shooting five fellow soldiers at Fort Stewart last week faces attempted premeditated murder charges, Army spokeswoman Michelle McCaskill told WORLD. The accused sergeant shot at six soldiers in the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team’s complex on Aug. 6, but only wounded five, McCaskill said. A group of soldiers nearby intervened by tackling and disarming the shooter.

The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel initiated proceedings against the alleged shooter on Tuesday, McCaskill said. The suspect will face two counts of attempted premeditated murder, four counts of attempted unpremeditated murder, six counts of various aggravated assaults, and one count of domestic violence. The accused attacker will be transferred to the Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston, located at Joint Base Charleston, S.C., for pretrial detention, she continued.

What role did domestic violence allegedly play in the attack? One of the victims in the attack was an intimate partner of the accused shooter, according to investigators. McCaskill did not specify if or how that relationship influenced the alleged attacker’s motive.

Dig deeper: Read my report about military leaders honoring the soldiers who intervened to stop the shooting last week.