Latest Wrens shooting is 1 more in a string of violence for small town

WRENS, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A shooting left one person injured in Wrens – something that’s not new to the town of less than 2,500 people that seems to have an oversized reputation for violent crime.

Wrens isn’t alone in seeing a crime wave, since hundreds have been killed across the CSRA in homicides in a little less than three years. But most people might expect the number to be tiny for such a small community.

Since July, three people in Wrens or from Wrens have been shot – one of them fatally.

All this comes amid turmoil in the city government that led to the resignations of Police Chief John Maynard and Assistant Police Chief Phillip Hambrick.

The latest shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Pine Valley Apartments in the 100 block of Kings Mill Road, sending the male victim to an Augusta hospital. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Anyone with information can call Wrens police at 706-547-3232, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 478-625-7538 or the GBI at 706-595-2575. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 800-597-8477, online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by ing the See Something, Send Something mobile app.

The incident comes amid an outbreak of violent crime that’s claimed about 200 lives in nearly three years across the CSRA.

Despite its small size, Wrens and its residents have had their share of shootings, and the Pine Valley Apartments have been a focal point.

Here’s a look at some of the shootings affecting Wrens residents:

• In August, a 17-year-old was injured in the upper arm in a shooting at the complex. At least one apartment and several cars were also hit by bullets.
• In late July, police asked for help from the community after a 16-year-old girl was injured in a shooting between Green Meadows Apartments and Howard Street.
• In early July, 16-year-old Sadiq Brown, or Wrens, was fatally shot in a parking lot on Peach Orchard Road in Augusta.
• In September 2023, Xion Xang Dunn, of Augusta, died after being shot in a confrontation with an officer trying to arrest him on a warrant. Authorities say he opened the door with a gun in his hand.
• In August 2023, 19-year-old Khia Shields was fatally shot at a home on Washington Street in Wrens – and her family is still searching for answers.
• In June 2023, two suspects were arrested on suspicion of killing store clerk Mandeep Singh, of Augusta, during the armed robbery of a food mart on Waynesboro Highway.

Also at the Pine Valley Apartments:

• Eighteen people were displaced by a fire in October 2021 at the complex. The fire started in the kitchen of one apartment.
• In June 2020, police used a stun-gun on a 15-year-old girl while trying to break up a fight at the complex.

In the latest shooting, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office are assisting the Wrens Police Department, which is under new leadership after Maynard exited in November.

Emails between Maynard and City Manager Arty Thrift indicate that while Maynard resigned, it wasn’t exactly by choice.

“I understand I have two options. Resign or be terminated,” Maynard wrote to Thrift. “But can I not have a reason or grounds for the termination?”

Thrift’s response: “We both agree it is not working out in Wrens. As such, I am offering you an option to resign your position and we both go our separate ways. If you choose not to resign, then I will issue a termination of employment letter.”

Thrift wrote that the termination letter would “look very different” than a courtesy meeting Maynard had with the mayor to discuss Maynard’s employment.

In the end, Maynard resigned.

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