Sheriff’s office talks about crime during tournament week

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We sat down with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office after two shootings Sunday.

A video from a News 12 viewer catches the moments shots are fired at a car at the intersection of Washington Road and Alexander Drive just before 6 o’clock.

The sheriff’s office says outside this incident, things stayed quiet for the week.

Tournament week is usually quieter for them, and even though there were two shootings on Sunday, they say it’s not much different from years past.

Shots were fired over an allegedly stolen vehicle, right next to patrons, flying through oncoming traffic.

“Immediately gave pursuit, they caught one of the people, and the vehicle, which was stolen, was eventually recovered in Columbia,” said Patrick Clayton, Chief Deputy Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

A fast response to an unusual situation.

“On all these kinds of situations like that, we just have to be prepared for anything that could emanate and respond accordingly, and I think that’s exactly what we did,” he said.

The driver who fired is now charged with aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during a crime and is in custody. But this isn’t the only incident. Around 3 a.m. Sunday, two people were injured in a shooting downtown on 10th and Broad Street.

One victim was shot in the neck, and the other drove themselves to the hospital.

“The sheriff and the colonel were talking at the beginning of the week, and we were marveling about how Masters week is usually a slow week. I think a lot of the bad guys are working for a hospitality house or out there in traffic control because they’re not committing a lot of crime,” said Clayton.

But they’re still ready for anything. On the first day of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, they increased staffing because of an unexpectedly large number of patrons. They continued bringing in reinforcements from the GBI, Columbia County, Grovetown, and other surrounding agencies to make sure safety was the top priority throughout the week.

The sheriff’s office says each year, they will continue to learn from incidents that happen here and across the country to make sure their ready to handle them if need be. They also want you to know that these situations were not related and not connected to the tournament.

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