AUGUSTA, Ga. – Shootings around the Fourth of July killed at least eight people, while other gun violence across the country injured about three dozen people, including one in Augusta.

The local shooting at Augusta Mall was the second one there within months, sending shoppers fleeing and bringing calls for tighter security. The last shooting there in April injured one person, and a person was killed in a shooting there in 2020.

The mall shooting comes just a few weeks after gunfire erupted on a crowded downtown sidewalk, setting off panic among bar customers and leading business owners to confront Sheriff Richard Roundtree.

The CSRA has been caught up in an outbreak of violence that’s claimed more than 170 lives in the past two years, something Roundtree’s agency has blamed on gangs while calling on community leaders and parents to step in.

The Fourth of July historically is one of the nation’s deadliest days of the year. A flurry of shootings around the Fourth of July a year ago left more than a dozen people dead and over 60 wounded. And a year before that, a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade left seven people dead near Chicago.

Violence and mass shootings often increase in the summer months, with more people gathering for social events, teens out of school and hotter temperatures.

Besides the Augusta incident, here’s a look at some other major shootings across the country:

Drive-by shooting in Philadelphia

A 19-year-old man was killed and six others were wounded in a drive-by shooting in Philadelphia, police said.

Around 11:30 p.m. Thursday, Philadelphia officers on routine patrol saw someone lying on a street and realized they had been shot. Additional officers soon arrived and they found more victims.

Police said the victims were gathered together when a man riding in a passing car fired several shots at the group. It’s not yet known what sparked the shooting.

The wounded victims — three men, three juvenile males and a juvenile female, who ranged in age from 14 to 23 — were being treated at hospitals for various injuries that were not considered life-threatening, and all were in stable condition.

10-year-old girl dies in Cleveland shooting

A 10-year-old girl was fatally shot in a Cleveland neighborhood, police said.

Officers responding to reports of shots fired on the city’s West Side found the girl around 7:10 p.m. Thursday. She was taken to a hospital but was pronounced dead a short time later. Her name has not been released. It’s not yet known what sparked the shooting or if the girl was targeted. No other injuries were reported.

Boston-area shootings leave 1 dead, four others wounded

One man was killed and four other people were wounded in three shootings in the Boston area following the city’s Fourth of July celebrations.

The fatal shooting occurred about 1:30 a.m. Friday in a park near Boston’s South End neighborhood. The man’s name wasn’t immediately released. At about the same time three other individuals were wounded in a shooting in the city’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood. A third shooting at a gas station later left a victim with life-threatening injuries.

Another shooting at about 9 p.m. Thursday left a 17-year-old male with a gunshot wound to his stomach in the parking lot of a condominium complex in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Separate gun incidents in Chicago wound 14

A day after a Fourth of July shooting killed two women and an 8-year-old boy in Chicago, police were investigating two other mass shootings that wounded 14 people in the city early Friday.

Chicago police said eight people were shot in the city’s Little Italy neighborhood shortly after midnight Friday during an exchange of gunfire between two people who fled the scene. All of the shooting victims — five women and three men ranging in age from 18 to 74 — were reported in good or fair condition.

About 90 minutes later, a shooting in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood wounded six people — three men and two women ages 18 to 25, and a 15-year-old boy, police said. All six were reported in good and fair condition. Police said preliminary findings suggest that shooting also involved an exchange of gunfire between two people who ran from the scene.

Friday’s shootings followed a Thursday morning shooting in a home on Chicago’s south side that killed two women, ages 45 and 24, and wounded three boys, ages 8, 7 and 5. The 8-year-old boy died from his wounds later Thursday, police said.

Deputy Chief Don Jerome said two vehicles pulled up and multiple people got out and fired shots at the home. Multiple shell casings from both a rifle and a handgun were found at the scene, he said.

Police continue investigating all three shootings and have announced no arrests.

Six teens wounded at home in upstate New York

Police in Albany, New York, said six teenagers were being treated at a hospital for injuries that were not considered life-threatening after a shooting at a large gathering at a home. The victims were males ranging in age from 16 to 19.

Police responded to reports of a shooting at the home around 12:15 a.m. Friday. None of the victims were found at the scene, but police said they located evidence consistent with gunfire in the yard behind the residence and in the street.

One teenager who had been shot flagged down officers along a street a short time later, police said.

Tampa nightclub shooting wounds 4

Four people were wounded in a shooting early Friday outside a Tampa adult nightclub after an altercation between the club’s security guard and two men, police said

In an email, Tampa police said the two men involved in the altercation drove their car to the front of the Pink Pussycat Lounge and one of them shot the security guard with a handgun. The security guard underwent surgery at a hospital and police said he is in stable condition. Three other men who were not involved in the altercation suffered unspecified minor injuries. Police said both suspects were arrested and charged with several crimes.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A Burke County man is accused of throwing an explosive device into a crowd on Broad Street and is now facing several charges.

It happened amid the extended July Fourth weekend as fireworks are in abundant supply – and in the same place where a shooting on a crowded sidewalk panicked downtown visitors nearly a month ago.

In this latest incident, Davon Reed, 25, is charged with possession of an explosive device to kill or injure and the obstruction of a law enforcement officer.

On July 5 around 1 a.m., while on routine patrol of 10th Street and Jones Street, deputies with the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office came in contact with Reed. Deputies observed Reed throwing an explosive device into a crowd of pedestrians at the intersection of Broad Street and 10th Street.

Deputies said there were approximately 20 pedestrians present when Reed shot the explosive device into the crowd.

While deputies attempted to detain Reed, Reed fled from deputies by foot, according to an incident report from The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

According to deputies, they commanded Reed to stop and Reed ignored the commands.

The incident report goes on to say Deputy Nicholas Boyd deployed his county-issued Taser X7, causing one probe to strike Reed in the lower right leg. The other probe did not strike Reed.

After failing to obtain neuromuscular incapacitation, Deputy Boyd then deployed his second taser cartridge. The second taser cartridge did not strike Reed.

While still running, Reed ran into the intersection of 10th Street and Jones Street, where he tripped and fell to the ground.

After falling to the ground, Deputy Boyd was able to handcuff and arrest Reed.

This arrest comes after News 12 received a video of what looks to be people throwing a device with sparks into the street.

News 12 has requested a mug for Reed and will continue to follow this story as more updates come.

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