With 6 shot in Screven County and 2 slain in 2 years, block parties raise red flags
SYLVANIA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - We can add Screven County to the list of places where a mass shooting has taken place – and it happened at a block party, an innocent-sounding gathering that’s landing on law enforcement radars.
Authorities responded late Saturday and early Sunday to the shooting at an unpermitted block party in the Lawton Place neighborhood north of Sylvania.
Six people suffered gunshot injuries and multiple cars were damaged by bullets. Authorities believe there were multiple shooters.
Locals around Screven County say that there have been other shootings within this neighborhood in the past, WTOC reports.
However, the news never gets easier to hear within their small community.
Although no one was killed, it fits the Gun Violence Archive’s definition of a mass shooting, so it’s been added to the archive’s list of mass shootings this year.
Block parties like the one in Lawton Place are causing alarm for some law enforcement agencies.
Just a couple of weeks ago, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning about plans for block party that deputies had learned about.
A little over a year ago, a shooting at a block party injured four people in the area of Tyrone Brooks Drive in the Keysville area of Burke County.
And in September 2022, four people were shot – one fatally – at a block party in the Forrest Drive area in Louisville.
Second Augusta shooting in less than 3 weeks leaves 1 dead
Another shooting downtown left one person dead early Friday morning, 20 days after the shooting that shocked the community, according to the Richmond County Coroner’s Office.
“Let this be a WARNING to those planning and/or attending such events. You will be breaking the law,” the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office posted agency posted June 13 on Facebook. “Jefferson County has ordinances in place to keep people and property safe as well as keeping the peace and allowing citizens to live without threats or hazards. Any event that obstructs the normal peace and tranquility of a neighborhood is in violation of these ordinances.”
The Screven County Sheriff’s Office, Sylvania Police Department, Georgia State Patrol and Bulloch County authorities all responded to the Lawton Place shooting.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is assisting with the case, and anyone with information, photos or videos is asked to call the Screven County Sheriff’s Office at 912-564-2013.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
