AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – It’s been a few days since a chaotic shootout in the city center sent three people – including 19-year-old suspect Amazing Brigham – to the hospital and sent other people running for their lives.
And the owners of several Broad Street businesses say they are tired of raising safety concerns but seeing nothing done about them.
They say they want more than just talk from local leaders.
They want results, and Saturday’s incident could be a warning sign.
Authorities said at least two people were involved in a shooting at 10th and Broad streets, and at least one of them opened fire on a crowded sidewalk. Nearby deputies shot one of the gunmen and two other people were injured.
Across the area, the shooting sparked panic inside and outside businesses.
DOWNTOWN SHOOTING: TEAM COVERAGE
Ask the people who were around and they will tell you that what happened will never really go away for them.
Ask business owners and they’ll tell you this was bound to happen.
That’s the sentiment of downtown businessman Adrian Estrada.
“What about the rest of the year? Not just in the summer and not just on First Friday,” he said.
Sheriff Richard Roundtree held a press conference Saturday afternoon about the shootingand he was confronted by Estrada.
“I’ve done nothing but call 911 in the last two months — and I’ve had more than an hour’s response to any call I’ve made to 911,” he told Roundtree. “I received a group of more than 100 people in front of my establishment after midnight.”
Roundtree finally interrupted, saying, “Are you making a statement, sir, or do you have any questions?”
Estrada responded, “Well, yes, sir. What will you do in the future on weekends? Not just in summer; I’m talking about the entire year. This problem doesn’t just exist in the summer. This has been happening all year. And I’ve been outspoken about it. And I’ve been very, very, extremely public about it. And nothing was done until someone was shot with an assault rifle. That’s a big concern.”
It is a shared concern; Estrada was accompanied by several other businessmen.
“Well, I’m going to disagree with you on that. We are present in the city center. Downtown is one of the safest places we have in Richmond County,” Roundtree said.
This was followed by an exchange in which Roundtree and Estrada disagreed with each other.
Several bar owners in the city center say they don’t want to talk about it anymore.
They want results.
And they want to feel safe walking the streets of downtown Augusta at any time.
One business owner told News 12, “Every weekend we just hold our breath and hope nothing bad happens.”
It looks like Roundtree and his agency will be able to get help. Mayor Garnett Johnson reached out to Governor Brian Kemp to ask for some state reinforcements.
The state agreed to send officers from the Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to help bolster local law enforcement.
It is unclear when this will begin.
Some business owners are not happy, but will customers come back?
Juan Jose Rodriguez de la Rosa, owner of Pineapple Ink Tavern, said, “Believe it or not, business has been great.”
On Sunday, birds sang, people rode bikes, families walked, and restaurants were packed after church.
But it wasn’t normal for Zalundra Henry, who witnessed the shooting,
“It seems like it happened just another day and everyone is used to it, and we all come back to the same thing,” Henry said.
“I’m still feeling a little shaken,” Henry said. “It was crazy that night, actually.”
Pieces of Saturday still lingered in his mind
Seeing the glass still on the sidewalk made her step back.
His mother, Garian Henry, appealed to elected officials to do something about it.
“Step up and do something about it. This isn’t just a one person thing. This affects everyone. They need to start having curfews. They need to have things to deter young people from violence,” she said.
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