Five soldiers shot at US Army’s Fort Stewart in Georgia, base reports

The entrance to Fort Stewart in Georgia. Picture: Staff Sgt. Daniel Guerrero/US Army via AP

Five soldiers have been shot at the US Army’s Fort Stewart in Georgia, the base said in a social media post.

Parts of Fort Stewart in south-east Georgia were locked down after an active shooter was reported on the sprawling army post, a spokesperson said.

A post on Fort Stewart’s Facebook page told all personnel in the locked down area to “stay inside, close and lock all windows and doors”.

Due to the lockdown status all gates on Fort Stewart are currently closed

Located about 40 miles south west of Savannah, Fort Stewart is the largest army post east of the Mississippi River.

It is home to thousands of soldiers assigned to the army’s 3rd Infantry Division and family members.

“Due to the lockdown status all gates on Fort Stewart are currently closed,” the fort said on social media.

The gunman was in the area of the 2nd Armoured Brigade Combat Team, the fort said online.

The fort’s three elementary schools are also on lockdown, community superintendent Brian Perry told WTOC-TV.

The schools have nearly 1,400 students, according to the Department of Defence.

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 online.

Georgia governor Brian Kemp is in contact with responding law enforcement, he said in a statement.

US Representative Buddy Carter, whose district includes Fort Stewart, said in an online post that he is monitoring the shooting.