AUGUSTA, Ga. () – Concerns have surfaced about the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office’s handling of a shooting from June before the fatal incident at Augusta Mall on Tuesday.
In a news briefing on Wednesday, Sheriff Eugene Brantley of Richmond County revealed that 17-year-old Devon McClain, a victim of the mall shooting, along with others involved, were also connected to an earlier incident in Harrisburg in June.
Brantley also acknowledged that the Sheriff’s Office made mistakes in that case.
“We somewhat faltered at the Sheriff’s Office regarding our investigation and delivering the case file to the district attorney promptly,” Brantley admitted.
“The District Attorney’s office had sent emails asking us to complete the case file and report, but we didn’t manage to do it within the timeframe they needed.”
Deputies also attended a shooting on Druid Park Avenue, which might be linked to the Augusta Mall shooting. One suspect is Tian’trez Freeman, the 14-year-old sibling of the mall shooting victim.
The mall shooting is something that concerns Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson.
“I’m not sure if you’ve watched that video, but having seen it myself, it’s shocking that young people in a public place would choose to continue their disputes, putting others at risk,” stated Mayor Johnson.
As far as the shooting in Harrisburg is concerned, Brantley stated that his department needs to “do a better job” to prevent similar situations from happening in the future.
