Lethal holiday: Augusta shooting brings death toll to 3

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – One person is dead after an Augusta shooting – the latest on a string of killings across the CSRA during the Thanksgiving holiday period.

At 4:21 a.m. Saturday, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 2500 block of Blackstone Street West to investigate a report of gunshots.

Upon arrival, deputies found a male victim who was dead with at least one gunshot wound.

The investigation is ongoing.

The slaying followed a deadly shooting Friday in Sandersville and one before dawn on Thanksgiving in Aiken.

In Sandersville

At 1:30 a.m. Friday, Sandersville police responded to the 478 Loft Event Center on Highway 15 to investigate a shooting.

Authorities believe there was a fight inside the center that resulted in a shooting.

Just after 9 p.m., Xzavious Wicker, 27, turned himself in at the Washington Could jail, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Wicker is held on charges including felony murder, aggravated assault, malice murder, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime.

In Aiken

Around 1:49 a.m., Thursday, 34-year-old Ty’Netrum J. Smoakes, of Fairfax, S.C, was found with at least one gunshot wound. He was in the driver seat of a Toyota Camry that had crashed into a tree on Park Avenue at Fairfield Street.

Smoakes was taken to Aiken Regional Medical Centers, where he was pronounced dead. He will be autopsied in Newberry.

Deadly outbreak of crime

The shooting is among an outbreak of violent crimes that’s claimed more than 100 lives in the past year and a half across the CSRA. Cities large and small have been affected on both sides of the Savannah River.

As the largest city in the region, Augusta has been hit especially hard.

Authorities have blamed much of the problems on gangs. Many of the victims and suspects have been young men.

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.