WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A soldier opened fire at a US military base in the southern state of Georgia on Wednesday, wounding five fellow troops before he was tackled and apprehended, a senior officer said.

The attack took place at Fort Stewart, a large Army base that is home to thousands of soldiers and their relatives. The installation went into lockdown as emergency personnel raced to respond to the attack.

“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,” Brigadier General John Lubas told a news conference.

Lubas — the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, which is based at Fort Stewart — put the toll at five wounded, saying that “all are in stable condition and all are expected to recover.”

The general identified the alleged shooter as Sergeant Quornelius Radford, saying his motive was unclear.

Though relatively rare, shootings — including some apparent terror-related attacks — periodically target military facilities in the US, a country that is plagued by an epidemic of gun violence.

A military weapon was not used in Wednesday’s shooting, which is believed to have been carried out with “a personal handgun,” Lubas said.

US President Donald Trump termed the shooting an “atrocity,” telling journalists that the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division would ensure the perpetrator would be “prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the shooting as “cowardly” and vowed in a post on X that “swift justice will be brought to the perpetrator and anyone else found to be involved.”