What 911 calls, police chatter tell us about downtown shooting
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - New 911 calls and public safety radio traffic paint a chaotic scene of Saturday’s shootout in downtown Augusta that sent people running for their lives.
In the calls, you can hear the urgency in the voices calling for help after gunfire rang out in the heart of downtown.
At around 1:13 a.m., a deputy calls into dispatch shouting “gunfire” multiple times. Dispatch repeatedly calls to all units, then shouts “one down.”
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Roughly around the same time, 911 calls started to come in.
A caller stated they were reporting gun shots around Greene Street, but wasn’t sure exactly where or how many.
As all of this is going on, crowds of people flood to the streets.
“I need everybody on 11th Street to block off. I need 10th Street blocked off. I need the intersections blocked off. The extra units, I need everybody to actually clear everybody on foot. All foot traffic has to go,” said one deputy on the scene.
Deputies and dispatch start discussing how many victims they had.
One deputy asked: “How many victims do we have?”
Another deputy said: “Right now, it looks like we got one. Right here in front of the Broad Axe Throwing Club.”
Deputies continued rushing to clear the area.
LISTEN TO THE 911 CALLS:
“Everybody that is on scene, I need all the foot traffic between 11th and 10th gone,” said one deputy. “Start pushing everybody out.”
Saturday’s shooting has sparked conversations on whether downtown is safe. The Augusta mayor, Richmond County sheriff and some commissioners say yes.
It’s also raised the question about police presence in downtown Augusta. Sheriff Richard Roundtree says there is a presence, but some business owners disagree.
Mayor Garnett Johnson says he’s called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for help from Georgia State Patrol.
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