Suspect turns himself in after shooting death of 14-year-old
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A suspect turned himself in connection with the shooting death of a 14-year-old at the Cedarwood Apartments in Augusta, authorities said Monday.
Authorities say Darryaun Tanksley, 15, turned himself in on Sunday after deputies identified him as a suspect in the death of Anthony Harrison at the Cedarwood Apartments on April 30.
Family spoke up after the fatal shooting. They say it’s a moment they won’t forget.
“It wasn’t until I actually got to the scene, that it became a reality. Just seeing his mom get there and her reaction in the screams is something that you can’t stop replaying,” said Harrison’s cousin, Tequila Moore. “Even now, it still feels like it’s not real yet.”
They say Harrison was a good kid, who loved to play sports.
“All he wanted to do was play sports. And if he wasn’t, he was with his nana or his mother. And you know they had him and he was just a good kid. And so, I always that if there’s nothing else, I can really say other than that he was he was a good child,” said Moore.
Now, those who loved him are left to cherish the little time they had with Harrison.
“He was loving. He definitely was a leader. No never followed. He was a leader. And he was a protector,” she said.
On Saturday, family and friends said goodbye to Harrison at a balloon release.
Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen said Harrison was shot at least one time and pronounced dead on the scene at 8:30 p.m.
An autopsy has been scheduled, Bowen says.
A little over 12 hours after the shooting, family were gathered and consoling each other Wednesday morning near where Harrison’s body was found in front of Building B at the complex, 527 W. Richmond Hill Road.
It was a scene much like Tuesday night, when they were hugging and crying just after the tragedy.
Those who live in the apartment complex were reflecting on what happened Tuesday night.
“I had a feeling it was going to be something because I saw the tape. It’s just terrible. That was somebody’s child, baby,” said Windy Murray, who’s lived in Cedarwood Apartments for nearly 10 years.
She watches her grandson often in the area.
“I just want it to be a safe environment a safe neighborhood and I give my condolences to the family,” said Murray.
Harrison, a football and basketball player, attended Murphey Middle School.
A coach who knew him called him “such a great kid on and off the field.”
“He was definitely going to be a star. That was his whole whole thing was to take care of his mom. Because she definitely did a great job taking care of him,” said Moore.
The shooting, first reported at 7:50 p.m., wasn’t the first one at the apartment complex.
In July 2022, a woman showed up at an Augusta fire station with a gunshot wound after a shooting at the Cedarwood Apartments.
In 2021, two people were shot at Cedarwood Apartments and taken to the hospital.
This latest shooting is sure to shake the community, coming just days after the shooting death of another 14-year-old in the CSRA.
On April 27, a 14-year-old Markayla Aiyonna Roberts was sleeping when she was hit by a bullet that came from outside the house off Bayshore Drive in Fairfax.
Harrison’s death comes amid an outbreak of violent crime that’s claimed more than 150 lives across the CSRA in two years. It’s affected communities large and small on both sides of the Savannah River. But as the largest city in the region, Augusta has been hit especially hard.
Authorities have blamed much of the problem on gangs, and many of the victims, like Harrison, as well as suspects have been young men.
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