New details on suspect, cop in shooting near Augusta school
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We now know the name of a suspect shot by a Richmond County deputy Thursday afternoon in front of Glenn Hills Middle School.
Around 1:06 p.m., deputies responded to a domestic dispute in the 3500 block of Primrose Drive.
Upon arrival, deputies spoke with the female complainant, who reported that Brandon Hill, who was known to her, had stolen her firearm and left the residence.
According to the incident report, deputies found Hill to have multiple active warrants.
A short time later, Deputy Sheriff David S. Hopkins left the scene and rode the area searching for Hill. Hopkins found Hill walking near 2941 Glenn Hills Drive, in front of Glenn Hills Middle School, according to law enforcement.
While Hopkins was exiting his patrol car, the incident report states that Hill pointed a black handgun at him, prompting Hopkins to fire on Hill, striking him at least one time.
Hill then dropped the firearm and fell to the ground and Hopkins provided aid to Hill until emergency medical crews arrived.
Hill was transported to Doctors Hospital on Thursday in critical condition.
MORE FROM NEWS 12
Public safety: Crime across the CSRA
- Man gets 7 life sentences after Augusta armed robberies, kidnappings
- 26-year-old arrested in stabbing incident at Bon Air Apartments
- 31-year-old accused of stabbing man during fight
- Man accused of shooting ex-girlfriend after argument in Augusta
- Former Saluda County staffer charged with discounting taxes for family, friends
- Suspect in Edgefield inmate’s slaying charged with murder
- Augusta shooting of homeless man leads to woman’s arrest
- Local agencies aid during ‘ICE Storm’ blitz in South Carolina
As of Friday morning, Hill was still in the intensive care unit.
When the incident happened, he was out on bond for burglary in the first degree. Bond was revoked in November 2024.
There were active bench warrants for him for a traffic case involving a police chase, according to court records.
Hopkins’ body-worn camera was activated during the incident and has been turned over to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Force Investigation Team for review. A third party such as the Columbia County team or the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is typically asked to investigate shootings involving officers.
The office of District Attorney Jared Williams has also been notified.
Hopkins has been with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office since August 2019, according to officials.
Augusta man arrested after shooting injures 1 on Keron Way
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office says a man has been arrested after a shooting on Keron Way.
His Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council record shows no sanctions or investigations.
Last January, he was training in the use of deadly force and de-escalation, active-shooter response and tactical firearms skills, going through judgmental simulator training.
According to his POST record, he started his law enforcement career in September 2018 with the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice as a corrections officer.
He ed the Richmond County Sheriff’s office as a jailer in 2019 and became a deputy in June 2021.
Glenn Hills Middle School tightened security Thursday afternoon because of what happened.
Out of an abundance of caution, outdoor activities and classroom transitions were limited after the Richmond County School System was notified by sheriff’s deputies.
Ga. Senate es bill that requires schools to have ‘panic button’
A bill that would require every school in Georgia to implement a panic button alert system ed the state Senate just before a crucial deadline last week.
It was the CSRA’s second officer-involved shooting in two days.
Early Wednesday, deputies in Aiken County fired after a suspect in a domestic incident pulled out a gun. Neither the suspect nor the deputies were hurt in that incident at the Palisades at Langley Pond apartment complex in Graniteville.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
