SAVANNAH, Ga. () — The Chatham County district attorney sent a stern message to those responsible for Wednesday’s shooting at Oglethorpe Mall.
The incident occurred shortly before 6 p.m. on Wednesday at a store’s entrance. Savannah Police reported that three people were shot, and multiple others suffered injuries. No fatalities were reported, but two minors were taken into custody on firearm-related charges. By 1 p.m. on Thursday, there had been no arrests made concerning the actual shooting.
District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones addressed the press on Thursday morning from the steps of the Eugene H. Gadsden Courthouse. She emphasized that the event affects the broader community, spanning beyond just Savannah or Chatham County.
DA Cook Jones described the shooting as “appalling” and a “blatant disregard for the lives of those in the mall.” She assured News 3 of her commitment to bringing those responsible to justice, stating that they would face the full extent of the law.
“We will not allow perpetrators… terrorists to go into our public places, our squares and our malls and instill fear in our residents and expose our public and our children to danger,” DA Cook Jones said. “This will never happen in Savannah again.”
News 3 asked the district attorney if she believes the City of Savannah and Chatham County has a gang problem. Many people on scene Wednesday stated they thought this crime was gang related.
“A wise person once told me that we are more interested in labels than we are with symptoms. Whether you call it gang violence or gun violence in America in general and in this county, we have too many guns in the hands of young people. You can call that what you want to, but that’s how I describe it and that’s how we have to attack it,” DA Cook Jones said. “One of the reasons there is confusion about whether or not there is or is not a gang problem is because we have a lack of data culture that collects evidence and intelligence about what gangs are doing, where they are gathering, and what their next move is.”
She said this case is her highest priority. The district attorney is now asking for the community’s help.
“This was deliberate and coordinated. It impacted our community as a whole. I am here to make a clarion call to our community for community response. What I am saying is that somebody knew that those young people had guns before they came to Oglethorpe Mall. Somebody in this community knew that that was going to happen. Somebody in this community knows the people who are involved, even though they haven’t been publicly identified yet. What I’m saying is that our best chance at prevention is collective collaborative community action,” DA Cook Jones said. “We need to get a grip on our young people before they get a grip on guns.”
