Augusta, GA

‘I could have died that night’: Downtown shooting spawns chaos

Published

2 months ago

June 8, 2024

‘I could have died that night’: Downtown shooting spawns chaos

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – When gunfire broke out in downtown Augusta early Saturday, it was a scene of “chaos,” witnesses said.

Around 1:15 a.m., there was a gunfight on the sidewalk at 10th and Broad streets, and one of the gunmen fired into a crowd on the sidewalk, authorities said. The gunman was shot by deputies and two other people were wounded.

None of the injuries were life-threatening.

But it was a scary experience for people in nearby businesses.

A witness described the chaos that erupted when the gunfire started.

He was at a nearby bar and said everyone started running when they heard what sounded like automatic gunfire.

“Once the club starts rushing to one side, you leave,” Phil Ramey said. “It’s almost like a big wave you feel it happen real quick.”

He was at Garden City Social when it happened.

“I went over to Garden City, in Garden City, vibing, enjoying the night. And next thing you know, you hear bullet shots coming through, and everyone sprints from the back to the front. Drinks are spilled. It’s a little bit chaotic,” he said.

“I little bit of screaming,” he said. “Everybody’s rushing to the front. It’s a small doorway, so I don’t think anybody got trampled, but people were pushing and shoving and elbows are being thrown – you know, kind of chaos. Chaos.”

He said when they got outside, the scene was more calm, and much of the attention seemed to be focused across the street in front of Solè restaurant.

Deputies were keeping people from walking in front of the business, he said.

“The cops were moving pretty quickly, trying to get everybody out,” he said. “But people like to linger. They like to kind of see what’s going on, so that’s kind of the vibe I got.”

He returned to the area on Saturday morning and was surprised to see the scene was still active with law enforcement.

“I showed up today and there’s cops out here still and yellow tape, so it must have went down pretty seriously,” he said Saturday morning.

A pair of friends told News 12 they were in Solè when it happened.

One said it was nothing but chaos. They said they never heard shots, just screaming.

People hid under tables and shoved one another trying to get out.

When they finally got outside, they saw several men in black ski masks, they said.

They didn’t know if they were the shooter or affiliated with the shooter, but their only thought was to run.

“It was just everyone rushing, like the manager was getting us out of there. And, yeah, there was this man. He was just telling us we need to get out. And, like, literally pushing us out just to get to safety,” Joshua Harris said. “I just know there was, like, a lot of screaming and such, police swarming everywhere, like I heard it out in the distance. It was just cars everywhere.”

Amy Sparent described seeing someone limping and holding an apparently injured area of his body as he walked.

“That’s when we just kind of like ran around the side,” she said. “We kind of did a circle of the building because we really didn’t know what to do.”

Like others, Harris and Sparent described hearing what sounded like hundreds of shots.

On the sidewalk in front of Solè on Saturday morning, there were shoes that had come off people’s feet as well as jewelry that had been dropped in the rush to get away.

Shoes were still on the sidewalk in front of Sole, where they’d come off people’s feet in the rush to get away from the gunfire early June 8.(WRDW/WAGT)

“Nobody knows where it came from,” witness Alonzo Butler said.

He said he saw people getting carried away after being shot.

“And I’m pretty sure they had nothing to do with it,” he said.

He had mixed emotions.

“What I felt was anger, and I was disappointed,” he said.

Like others, he described many gunshots.

“The rate of fire was so rapid,” he said.

Hours after the shooting, Butler said he was happy to be alive.

“I could have died that night,” he said.

Although many people came to the location Saturday morning to see what was going on, some were reluctant to talk with News 12 about what they knew. Some were hugging each other.

However, a young woman said her two brothers were shot. She said 18-year-old Amazing Brigham and 23-year-old Seven Whitfield were taken to a hospital. Whitfield has been released from the hospital and is not a suspect. Brigham, she says, has not been released.

Brigham’s mother told News 12 she hadn’t been able to see her son but authorities told her he was stable.

PHOTO GALLERY:

It wasn’t a deadly incident, since Richmond County Coroner Mark Bowen says he wasn’t involved.

But it easily could have been, considering the number of rounds fired – and it happened just three days after Richmond County public safety agencies gathered for a symposium on preparing for active-shooter incidents and other potential mass casualties.

The incident is among the latest in an outbreak of deadly violence that’s claimed more than 150 lives across the CSRA in a little over two years.

The outbreak has 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.

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Augusta, GA

Cold case solved: Suspect arrested in 2019 Augusta slaying

Published

42 mins ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Cold case solved: Suspect arrested in 2019 Augusta slaying

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a suspect in connection with a 2019 murder.

On Dec. 30, 2019, at 4:47 am., the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to 2106 Bayvale Road to investigate the murder of Dwayne Lane, 52.

The case had remained in a cold case status until Friday.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division was able to find and interview original witnesses as well as new witnesses.

As a result, investigators were able to arrest Willie Ferrell, 42, in connection with the killing.

Ferrell was booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.

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Augusta, GA

Complete this survey to create a more climate resilient Augusta

Published

8 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Complete this survey to create a more climate resilient Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The University of Georgia is seeking the public’s help in creating more climate resilience in Augusta.

The project aims to address the impacts of climate change in vulnerable and underserved communities in Georgia.

The team consists of a group of climate scientists from UGA, who are partnering with the Georgia Climate Project (GCP), Greater Augusta’s Interfaith Coalition (GAIC) and Black Voters Matter (BVM).

“We noticed there is a lot of resilience work going on around Atlanta and the coast, but there is this big swath in the middle of Georgia that is not getting a lot of attention,” said Dr. Patricia Yager. “A lot of folks are being impacted but not getting resources. So, UGA and the Georgia Climate Project asked around to see who was interested and we got a lot of enthusiasm from the Augusta community. This is hoping to be a model effort for other communities across the state.”

The team will help provide climate risk information to underserved communities in Augusta.

The project will also offer guidance and resources for making good decisions to respond to extreme weather.

Resilient solutions include:

Designing infrastructure to direct water to planted areas can reduce flooding.
Electric public transportation can reduce emissions that worsen air quality.
Increasing green spaces in the city, like installing green roofs, can reduce urban heat.

The project team says their goal is to “listen to Augusta residents, interpret Augusta-specific climate science data and identify solutions to help Augusta residents cope with extreme weather.”

To complete the survey, visit https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe7PTfE8WIx1O-NRBrCjn2ujh_KhmW66_Rhn7dEg9FuOEggNQ/viewform.

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Augusta, GA

I-TEAM UPDATE: Silent Alarms continue inside the Augusta Fire Department

Published

15 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

I-TEAM UPDATE: Silent Alarms continue inside the Augusta Fire Department

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A system that’s supposed to get help to you faster but instead is causing calls to go unanswered and delays with deadly outcomes for taxpayers in Richmond County.

For the past six months, the I-TEAM has been investigating Augusta’s 911 dispatching for fire stations across Richmond County.

It’s raising the question: How do you know if first responders will show up when it’s you and your family calling for help?

That was the reality for Waralene Currie, who lives in Richmond County.

An early morning emergency is now a blur for her. She can’t remember much — because she wasn’t awake when first responders arrived at her home.

FULL I-TEAM COVERAGE:

A 911 report sheds light on what happened that morning her family called 911 for help. She was unconscious and her family was doing CPR while waiting for first responders to arrive, according to the report.

“They didn’t think that I was going to pull through,” said Currie.

On August 31, 2022, at 1:50 a.m., Currie’s family called 911 for help as she was having a heart attack. 911 dispatchers send an ambulance and firefighters trained as EMTs.

It takes 11 minutes for dispatch to notice Augusta Fire Station 16 isn’t responding, according to 911 documents and dispatch radio traffic. After those 11 minutes pass by — dispatch calls for Engine 16 twice in a matter for 35 seconds.

Engine 16 was the initial unit called to Currie’s home.

Another five minutes tick by, but 911 has to dispatch to a completely different station. Engine 6 responds to the call instead.

After being dispatched, Engine 6 radios to dispatch asking if 16 is responding to the call. Dispatch responds saying, “That’s affirmative but they weren’t acknowledging Purvis. I couldn’t get ahold of Engine Company 16. Engine 6, we were trying to call them on the telephone. They’re not answering.”

23 minutes go by before firefighters finally arrive at Currie’s home.

The I-TEAM reviewed 911 records and found Engine 16 never received the emergency call. Dispatch manually called the station landline, but no one heard it.

“By the time I got to the hospital, I had had a stroke along with a heart attack and was in there for a week,” said Currie.

Currie’s case is one of at least 139 dispatching errors discovered by the I-TEAM. That includes everything from car accidents to fires and medical emergencies, like the one experienced by Currie.

“In my case, it could’ve cost me my life,” said Currie.

For Tommy Williams’ family, the price of the problem cost two lives. Our I-TEAM shared their story first on April 29, 2024.

Teresa Ingram and Rex Williams didn’t make it alive from a house fire. Both were found inside just steps from the front door and just across the street from Station 16, which never received the initial call from dispatch.

“It’s literally right across the street from the fire department,” said one 911 caller.

The I-TEAM found hundreds of emails within the Augusta Fire Department. Emails like one saying, “Engine 13 was dispatched over Purvis — and did not receive tones. There was a 16-minute response to a call that was 200 yards from the station.”

Another email wrote, “There was a network outage — and the internet was down for over three to four hours. During that time, Purvis failed to work. If you did not manually send the call, they never received it.”

Purvis is part of Augusta’s 911 response equipment. A dispatcher types in a location.

Purvis is supposed to then dispatch help based on the location and urgency of the emergency.

The data goes through an interface designed by Tyler Technologies. The I-TEAM has now learned the city may have known Tyler Technologies was a potential problem three years ago.

MORE FROM THE I-TEAM:

An email from September 2021 shows issues with Tyler Technologies’ CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch) interface when the Purvis System was being tested.

Purvis reached out to Tyler Technologies via email saying, “We obviously have been testing with Augusta Fire, and I am sensing their patience is wearing thin. But also, the next customer down the road, Nassau County Fire, is talking about canceling the project because this has been lingering for so long.”

The system failures have a face and a human cost. Through the I-TEAM’s open records request, we found out the Augusta Fire Department never tracked just how many times initial emergency calls went unanswered.

We know it was at least 139 calls because we confirmed that after spending four months reviewing county emails, but there could be more.

Currie’s case is a perfect example of the failure of this system. Her case may be a small percentage, but those are lifesaving services. These are things that people could die over, no matter if it’s one case or a thousand cases.

“It’s alarming. I would like to be able to call them and get the help that I need,” said Currie.

It appears the fire department only began to investigate after the I-TEAM started to investigate.

On March 12, 2024, James Perkins wrote, “As you may have heard, the news media is investigating calls that Purvis is not announcing. I would like to set up a meeting to discuss this and possibly reach out to Tyler and have them investigate. The latest incident occurred today for a working structure fire.”

Currie cherishes every day, but her sense of safety has been shaken since that morning two years ago.

The I-TEAM reached out to the Augusta Fire Department a handful of times for a sit-down interview with Fire Chief Antonio Burden.

They provided the I-TEAM a statement saying:

“Thank you for reaching out regarding the Augusta Fire Department. Chief Burden appreciates your interest in providing a comprehensive view of our operations to the citizens of Richmond County.

We believe our previous communications and the open records we have provided effectively demonstrate the Augusta Fire Department’s commitment to our dispatching system. Our mission is to keep the citizens of Augusta well-informed and to deliver professional and efficient emergency services, ensuring the protection of lives, property, and the environment within our community. At this time, we have no further comments on this matter. Thank you for your understanding and consideration.”

The I-TEAM previously reached out to Augusta Commissioner Catherine Smith-McKnight for comment on our ongoing investigation. She chairs the Public Safety Committee in Richmond County. She told the I-TEAM the issue would be brought up at a commission meeting on May 28, 2024.

The discussion of the I-TEAM report was moved to executive session. As of now, there has been no indication city leaders or fire officials have discussed our investigation in a legal meeting.

We’ll continue following this story and keep you updated as we uncover more information.

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