SAVANNAH, Ga. () – One week after the shooting at Oglethorpe Mall, worries persist about public safety and the progress of the investigation into the event.
Strains had been escalating between the local Sheriff’s Department and the mall’s management since the shooting, reaching a boiling point on Tuesday afternoon.
Chatham County Sheriff Richard Coleman had a meeting with mall security, stating that they had been preventing him from deploying more security within the mall.
Though, going forward, it looks like that will change.
“It was questionable about access to a public place,” Coleman said. “So, we came together. We sat down. We reviewed and listened on both sides and we both agreed that it’s okay to access a public place as the Sheriff. We’re going to walk the mall, walk the mall like I normally do maybe once a week. We’re going to get out we’re going to talk to constituents.”
Three people have been arrested in connection to the shooting, but has exclusively viewed video taken during the shooting from several angles that clearly shows several other people were involved in the shootout.
“Some individuals were identified to us, and it not only takes time to determine their level of culpability but to determine the charges. That process takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said.
However, has obtained a copy of a letter sent by the District Attorney’s office to all mall vendors who might have any evidence, including video footage, asking them to preserve it.
“I suspect in the coming days you will hear of additional arrests,” Johnson said.
Savannah’s Mayor also addressed potential gang ties to the shooting.
“There’s a difference between who they claim and what they do, and just because they claim it the activity may have nothing to do with gang activity,” he said.
The Savannah Police Department and the Mayor confirmed this weekend that the three individuals who have been arrested so far had gang ties.
What’s left to be determined is whether the alleged crimes of those who have been arrested or are arrested in the future had anything to do with their affiliation.
