FORT STEWART, Ga. — After a shooting that injured five soldiers at Fort Stewart in Georgia, the family of the sergeant accused of committing the shooting is still reeling — shocked and devastated by the events that unfolded Wednesday at Fort Stewart.

In an exclusive interview, First Coast News Sports Director Chris Porter sat down with Quornelius Radford’s uncle, Joe Mitchell, who opened up about the moment he learned his nephew was the suspected shooter.

He also shared the emotional toll, the message he has for the victims, and the chilling, cryptic message Radford sent to his family just before the shooting.

Before the shooting, Mitchell says Radford, who is called Quan by his loved ones, texted a group text with his family: “I just want y’all to know that I love y’all, and I tried my hardest to be the best I can be. 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.”

The text was sent at 10:30 a.m. Officials say the shooting happened at 10:50 a.m.

Mitchell told us how family pleaded with Radford to respond, responding, “Quan, call me. Please don’t talk like that.”

Mitchell and his nephew had a close relationship. He says he learned of the shooting during a phone call with someone he knows. The caller mistakenly told Mitchell that Radford had died.

“Me and my family, we were devastated — we didn’t think he was actually the shooter, we was just thinking he got killed.”

He turned on the news and found out his nephew was actually the suspected shooter. He was shocked. “I couldn’t believe it,” Mitchell said. “That’s not the Quan that me and my brother and my mother and the rest of my family grew up and raised.”

Mitchell says his nephew struggled with grief from the death of his mother when he was eight years old — and the death of his sister just two years ago. He also lost his grandfather — Mitchell’s father — who Mitchell said was like a father to Radford.

“So like, those three hits plus whatever’s going on in his personal life… he probably needed help. And no one… you know, we didn’t know as a family because we definitely would have helped him, but if the military knew, they didn’t help him until it was too late.”

However, Mitchell said that his nephew always had a smile and helped his family out, and did not show any warning signs of committing a crime like this.

He is still struggling to understand. “Ever since I seen it on the news, I’m still asking myself why, you know, I was just one phone call away. I wish we could have talked about it, and it would never have happened, you know, but just leave it in God’s hands.”

To the families of the victims, Mitchell wants to say, “I’m just sorry.” He wants to tell them he wishes he could have helped to stop the shooting. “I wish I could have talked to him, and I could have helped him, and this could have been avoided. I’m deeply sorry.”

He went on, “It hurts me because I wasn’t able to help him fix his problem before he went and made one — that hurt more than any problem, and any solution, that I’ve ever been involved in… Cause it’s my nephew, and I know that’s not the type of person he is.”

Radford’s grandmother also told First Coast News that she spoke to her grandson just two days before the shooting. She said he was telling her he was about to receive his bachelor’s degree, but she could tell something was not right. She asked Quornelius if he was okay, and he told her ‘yes.’

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