FORT STEWART, Ga. (WSAV) — The family of Sgt. Quornelius Radford, the active-duty soldier accused of shooting five fellow soldiers, is speaking out.

Joe Mitchell, Radford’s uncle, told First Coast News the family is heartbroken and blindsided. Mitchell shared a chilling text from his nephew just 20 minutes before the shooting.

“I just want y’all to know that I love y’all and I try my hardest to be the best I could be,” the text message read. “My time is slowly coming to an end. I choose my destiny and my faith. I might not be with my mama, but I’m gonna be in a better place.”

Mitchell said he pleaded with Radford to respond after reading that message. Mitchell said the family initially thought Radford was killed in the shooting, only to turn on the news and hear investigators say “Quan” was the suspected shooter.

“I couldn’t believe it. That’s not the man that me and my brother and my mother and the rest of my family grew up and raised,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell said Radford was dealing with some mental health struggles surrounding the death of his mother when he was a child and the more recent deaths of his sister and grandfather.

“Those three hits… plus whatever is going on with his personal life that he probably needed help with. We didn’t know as a family, because we definitely would have helped him,” Mitchell said.

Now, the family is searching for answers.

“I was just one phone call away. I wish we could have talked about it, and it would have never happened. You know, but just leaving it in God’s hand,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell had a message for the victims and their families.

“I’m just sorry… I wish I could’ve talked to him. Man, I could have helped him. This just could have been avoided, right? I’m deeply, deeply sorry,” Mitchell said.

Radford is currently in the Liberty County Jail. The shooting is being investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Division.