Augusta is spared from being the scene of another mass shooting

Lina Portman4 weeks ago

0 2 minutes read

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree said Saturday morning's shooting in downtown Augusta could have easily become a mass shooting.

Fortunately, that's not the case, which he attributes to the quick action of some nearby deputies.

Gunfire broke out around 1:15 a.m. at 10th and Broad streets when two gunmen shot each other on a crowded sidewalk, Roundtree said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.

At one point, at least one of the gunmen opened fire on the sidewalk, Roundtree said.

Two people were injured, as well as the shooter, who was shot dead by nearby police officers.

“This could easily have been a deadly shooting,” Roundtree said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.

He's grateful that's not the case.

Mass shootings are on the rise in the United States, and Augusta has not been spared from this trend.

A a May 2023 mass shooting killed two people and injured others at an Augusta motorcycle club in East Boundary. Investigators found 150 shell casings at the scene after what authorities believe was a conflict between groups of bikers.

Local authorities have trained for mass shootings. Just Wednesday, they held a symposium on how to handle emergencies and mass casualty incidents like what Saturday's shooting could have become.

Last year, the country saw 655 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

This is not a record, set in 2021, with 689 of them.

Between 2019 and 2020, the overall gun homicide rate increased by about 35%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Records show that mass shootings particularly increased after May 2020, coinciding with an overall increase in gun violence during the pandemic.

MASS SHOOTING SO FAR THIS YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES:

At CSRA, this problem persists, with more than 150 lives lost in one explosion of deadly violence in just over two years.

The outbreak affected communities large and small on both sides of the Savannah River, but as the region's largest city, Augusta was particularly hard hit.

Authorities have blamed much of the problem on gangs.

Roundtree called the May 2023 mass shooting a “lesson learned.”

“Bringing this type of violence to our city, adding us to a national list of mass shootings, is unconscionable. This is something we will not tolerate here in Richmond County,” Roundtree said after the shooting.

It almost happened again, and now the Augustians are counting their blessings.