Augusta, GA

Is downtown Augusta safe? Residents give their thoughts after Saturday shooting

Published

2 years ago

June 10, 2024

Is downtown Augusta safe? Residents give their thoughts after Saturday shooting

Augusta’s downtown First Friday festivities were followed by a violent shooting early Saturday that left three injured, including a suspect after deputies on site fired back. In the hours that followed, the Augusta Chronicle spoke with residents about their thoughts on downtown Augusta’s safety.

Several like Kenzie Castro said incidents like the one Saturday are why she rarely visits downtown.

“My friends love to go downtown and always ask me and my hubby if we would like to join and we always reply ‘no,’” she wrote via Messenger. “Always gives me a bad vibe and now I see why I am glad I’ve always trusted my gut.”

Downtown shooting: Augusta sheriff, mayor try to reassure downtown residents after Saturday shootout

Chelsea Maultsby said the scene really changes as the sun sets.

“I don’t trust downtown,” Maultsby said. “In the daytime it’s safe, (but) not at night. These young kids be doing stuff. I don’t even like stepping out here. It used to be fun.”

Lashanda Murray expressed similar sentiments.

“I think, during the day, it’s typically like this, nice and peaceful,” she said. “During the night … frankly, I think there could be more police presence just to ensure that the same atmosphere during the day you have at night.”

Following a press conference about the shooting on Saturday, Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson expressed interest in addressing this with the Augusta Commission.

“Our downtown is a safe area,” the mayor said. “However, I am extremely disappointed in the level of violence and the level of lawlessness that occurs in our downtown corridor late in the evening.”

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who is leading the investigation in this case since it involves local deputies shooting a suspect, released a statement on Sunday noting they arrested Amazing Lee Blessed Brigham, 19, of Hephzibah. He is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a gun during a crime.

Three deputies were working off-duty jobs at Solé restaurant, located at 1033 Broad St., when they heard multiple gunshots, according to the GBI. The deputies responded, found the suspect outside the restaurant with an assault pistol. They fired at him, hitting the suspect at least once.

While many downtown business owners declined to comment, multiple showed up at the press conference and expressed their concern over insufficient police presence. Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree said he was more than happy to talk to them at a later date while also arguing that downtown is one of the safest spots in Richmond County and they have a significant downtown presence.

However, one owner that has publicly spoken is Sean Wight who owns the Frog Hollow Group, which includes restaurants like Farmhaus, Tacocat, and Pho-Ramen’L. He gave the following comment in a news release with Richmond County sheriff’s candidate Eugene “Gino Rock” Brantley:

“I feel like downtown Augusta as a destination is a safe place with a lower crime rate than most city’s our size, however when there are known events that draw large crowds such as First Friday or other late-night events,” he nored, “the lack of police presence and proactive crowd control is distressing, especially since this has been a recurring issue for several years.”

Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson also supported the safety of downtown while also saying they need to be sensitive to those who live and work downtown every day. Johnson said they will be going to the drawing board to figure out how to best meet their needs.

The investigation into Saturday’s shooting is still underway and has been turned over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The GBI communications center can be reached at (404) 244-2600. Confidential tips for the sheriff’s office can be posted online at richmondcountysheriffsoffice.com/crime-tip.cfm.

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Augusta, GA

GameStop to close 16 Georgia locations, including 1 in Augusta

Published

8 hours ago

January 13, 2026

Press Room

GameStop to close 16 Georgia locations, including 1 in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Video game retailer GameStop is reportedly closing 16 stores in Georgia, including one Augusta location, as part of its “comprehensive store portfolio optimization.”

The store in Augusta is located in the Southpointe Plaza at 3209 Deans Bridge Road.

The retailer announced in an SEC filing that it plans to close “a significant number of additional stores in fiscal 2025.”

While an official list is not available, emails sent to customers and notices sent to employees indicate 16 stores in Georgia are on the chopping block.

All Georgia locations closing include:

North Point Mall, 1198 North Point Circle, Alpharetta
Lenox Square Mall, 3393 Peachtree Rd. NE Suite 2027, Atlanta
Howell Mill, 1801 Howell Mill Rd. NW, Atlanta
Southpointe Plaza, 3209 Deans Bridge Rd., Augusta
Shops @ Main Street, 455 Cherokee Pl., Cartersville
Chamblee Village, 1841 Chamblee-Tucker Rd., Chamblee
Peachtree Mall, 3131 Manchester Expwy. #34B, Columbus
Cumming Marketplace, 1060 Market Place Blvd., Cumming
Dublin Commons, 2421 Hwy. 80 W, Dublin
Hartwell Station, 115 Walmart Dr., Hartwell
4959 Bill Gardner Pkwy., Locust Grove
McDonough Square, 1144 Hwy. 20-81, McDonough
Pharrs Village, 1830 Scenic Hwy. N, Snellville
Stone Mountain Festival, 1825 Rockbridge Rd., Stone Mountain
Cofer Crossing, 4363 Lawrenceville Hwy., Tucker

GameStop’s board of directors recently approved $35 billion in performance-based stock options for CEO Ryan Cohen, should the company’s market cap hit $100 billion. The company’s market cap is $9.3 billion.

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Augusta, GA

Finding Solutions: Augusta nurse opens new end-of-life care facility

Published

20 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

Finding Solutions: Augusta nurse opens new end-of-life care facility

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A hospice nurse is opening Augusta’s first inpatient hospice home, giving families a new option for end-of-life care.

Stacia Sirull, a hospice nurse, is opening the Augusta Inpatient Hospice Home. The facility will feature hummingbird decorations throughout.

“My sister passed away a couple of years ago. She died in a hospice house in Kentucky and loved humming birds. When I decided to do this I was like we are just going to put humming birds everywhere,” Sirull said.

Limited options for Augusta families

Augusta families facing end-of-life care currently have limited options. The new facility will serve as an alternative.

“There are many times when I hear I don’t want to die at home. I don’t want leave here and leave the memory of this with my family and don’t want to stay here, or the other way around I don’t want my family member to die at home and have to remember that they were here in this house,” Sirull said.

Sirull said the facility gives people a comfortable option in a homey environment.

“Our slogan is your life, your journey, your choice. The reason we wrote it that way is because I want people to be able to make their own choice at the end of life and have those choices be respected,” she said.

Family shares experience

Krista Weigle’s mother was on hospice in Augusta in 2018. Weigle said her mother began needing more care than she and her sister could provide. Her sister lives in Statesboro, where there is an inpatient hospice home.

“We just felt so blessed to find that place and felt very comfortable with her being there and when she passed we knew we had done the right thing,” Weigle said.

Facility details and community support

The Augusta Inpatient Hospice Home will have six rooms added to the existing building. Sirull said there will always be one bed available for someone who doesn’t have the finances or insurance to cover the stay.

“No one should die alone, no one should die without support in their last days and not just support, but compassionate support,” she said.

Sirull said the community can help by donating hospital beds, blankets, quilts, bedside tables, kitchen items including pots and pans, and personal care items including diapers, wipes and shampoo.

Weigle said she’s happy to know a place she once needed is coming to Augusta.

“My only worry is that it won’t be big enough and once word gets around and people see what need it fills, there will need to be more places like this,” she said.

The Augusta Inpatient Hospice Home is a nonprofit organization set to open May 1.

Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

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Augusta, GA

FBI agents identify chemical used in Georgia acid attack

Published

1 day ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

FBI agents identify chemical used in Georgia acid attack

SAVANNAH, Ga. — The FBI agents have confirmed that they’ve identified the chemical used in a Georgia acid attack.

Just last month, Ashley Wasielewski was walking around Forsyth Park in Savannah when a man hiding in the shadows near Whitaker Street suddenly came out and attacked Wasielewski with an unknown chemical substance.

Despite the hardship she’s been through and that lies ahead, Ashley Wasielewski is smiling in a photo from her hospital bed.(Contributed)

Sources close to the investigation say that liquid melted through Wasielewski’s clothing and headphones and left her with severe burns.

On Friday, the FBI released that they now know what that substance was but are not releasing the name of the substance to the public at this time.

FBI officials say that SLED assisted and did the testing on behalf of the the organization.