By Jack Phillips
Contributing Writer
Five soldiers were shot in an active shooter incident at Georgia’s Fort Stewart on Wednesday, prompting the U.S. Army base to go on lockdown, officials said.
The base’s lockdown was lifted, said a social media post issued by the Fort Stewart Hunter Army Airfield at around 12:30 p.m. ET. However, the base’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team area was still on lockdown as of that time, it said.
“There is no active threat to the community,” the base said in its statement, adding that the shooting suspect was apprehended about 45 minutes after police were dispatched to the base.
The five soldiers who were shot by the active shooter were treated at the base and moved to the Winn Army Community Hospital in Georgia for further treatment, the statement added.
Emergency medical personnel were sent to treat the soldiers about 15 minutes after law enforcement was dispatched, it said.
“The incident remains under investigation and no additional information will be released until the investigation is complete,” the statement said. An earlier statement from Fort Stewart said that the military installation was placed under lockdown at around 11:04 a.m. ET.
“Casualties have been reported and the situation is ongoing,” the initial statement said.
No other details were provided, including how many injuries or deaths were reported in the shooting. No suspect or victims were named.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp responded to the development in a post on social media by saying that he was in contact with local law enforcement responding to the shooting.
“We are keeping the victims, their families, and all those who answer the call to serve in our hearts and prayers,” the governor said on X.
President Donald Trump was briefed on the shooting, and the White House is “monitoring the situation” in Georgia, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on the social media platform.
Both the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) are responding to the scene, the two agencies said in statements on Wednesday.
Fort Stewart’s three elementary schools were placed on lockdown in response to the shooting, Community Superintendent Brian Perry told WTOC-TV.
Three schools just outside the base are taking steps similar to a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution,” the Liberty County School System said in a statement online.
Home to the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart trains and deploys both active and reserve units, according to its website. It is approximately 40 miles south of Savannah, Georgia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
