How are Augusta leaders addressing downtown shooting?
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - It’s been four days since a shooting shocked downtown Augusta.
Three people – including a suspect shot by deputies – were injured when gunfire broke out and someone fired into a crowd around 1:15 a.m. Saturday at 10th and Broad streets.
Today, we’re trying to get answers as Augusta Commission meet for the first time since the incident.
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City leaders, including a commissioner and the mayor, spoke about the shooting hours afterward on Saturday, so it won’t be surprising for them to continue to address that matter of safety downtown.
“My wife works downtown, and I worry about it,” said District 10 Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle.
He says we can’t be only reactive to problems.
“My alarm went off at my office two weekends ago. I didn’t have to worry about a police officer showing up because they won’t come to any kind of alarms,” he said.
Guilfoyle and other commissioners think the answer is hiring more deputies.
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The day of the downtown shooting, the mayor called the Georgia governor for help from the Georgia State Patrol. But Mayor Garnett Johnson says part of the issue could also be solved at home.
“We have a problem with the late-night congregants after 10 o’clock when the restaurants are closed and the bars are starting to open. And it’s not a matter of those that are participating in our nightlife and our bar scene, and I highly encourage people to continue to do that. But we can’t have the loitering and the gathering by those that are underage,” he said.
The mayor and Commissioners Tony Lewis and Jordan Johnson think downtown is safe and say they’re working on solving these issues.
“We’re getting ready to sit down and talk about our jail climate, like the population of the jail, so those conversations are already been being held. We’ve had conversations about staffing in the past, and we’ve worked to fund that lack of staffing. There are a number of things that we need to be talking about,” said District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson.
They’re working toward a better city while saying they need the community’s help, too.
“These kinds of incidents can happen anywhere. They can happen in your backyard, in your neighborhood. So being downtown doesn’t exclude it from happening,” Lewis said.
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Some business owners, including Adrian Estrada, have been outspoken in saying they don’t feel like law enforcement is doing all it should.
Estrada confronted Sheriff Richard Roundtree about it on Saturday and since then, business owners say a shooting like Saturday’s was bound to happen eventually.
For his part, the mayor said he’s heard business owners’ concerns and wants to do something about it.
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