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Six Are Dead After Shootings in a Georgia Community Six Are Dead After Shootings in Georgia Community
(about 2 hours later)
The police were searching for a gunman in the fatal shooting of five people in two separate locations in a Georgia county about 25 miles west of Augusta on Friday night, the authorities said. A 51-year-old man shot and killed five people in the unincorporated East Georgia community of Appling on Friday night, officials said, before fatally turning a gun on himself in his garage.
The shootings, about 35 minutes apart, occurred in the same neighborhood in Appling, said Capt. Andy Shedd of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. Capt. Andy Shedd of the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said the suspect, Wayne Hawes, lived in the neighborhood, about 25 miles west of Augusta, where he carried out the shootings at two houses, killing three adults in one of them and two in the other.
Shortly after 12:30 a.m, the authorities said the body of a man had been found at the home of the person who had been sought in the shootings. They did not say how the man had died, but added that he was likely the gunman, and were waiting for the coroner to confirm his identity. Relatives said one of the victims, Reba Dent, was Mr. Hawes’s mother-in-law, and Vernon Collins, the Columbia County coroner, said Mr. Hawes’s wife was in protective custody on Friday night.
The police said the shootings might have been acts of domestic violence. Captain Shedd said the gunman knew his victims, though a motive was unclear. The shootings occurred about 35 minutes apart, Capt. Shedd said.
The captain said the police were called to 3162 Johnson Drive about a shooting at 7:54 p.m. He said two victims were declared dead at the scene; a third died at a hospital. One male and two females were killed, he said. The captain said the police were called to 3162 Johnson Drive about a shooting at 7:54 p.m. He said two victims were declared dead at the scene; a third died at a hospital. One man and two women were killed, he said.
Vernon Collins, the Columbia County coroner, said the man who was shot was also found with his throat slit. Mr. Collins said the man who was shot was also found with his throat slit.
At 8:32 p.m., the police were called to a shooting at 5581 Washington Rd., which intersects with Johnson Drive and was about half a mile away from the scene of the first shooting. At 8:32 p.m., the police were called to a shooting at 5581 Washington Road, about half a mile away from the scene of the first shooting.
At that second site, a female and a male were found dead of gunshot wounds, he said. At that second site, a woman and a man were found dead of gunshot wounds, he said.
Mr. Collins, the coroner, and Harriett Garrison, the county’s deputy coroner, identified the five victims. At the first scene, they said, the dead man was Roosevelt Burns. A second victim was Reba Dent, 87. A third person, Trequila Clark, 31, who was discovered alive but wounded, was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Mr. Collins and Harriett Garrison, the county’s deputy coroner, identified the five victims. Ms. Dent, 87, was found at the scene of the first shooting, as were Roosevelt Burns, 75, and Trequila Clark, 31. Ms. Clark was discovered alive but wounded, and was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
The husband and wife at the second scene were identified as Shelley Williams, 63, and Lizzie Williams, 60. Each died from a single gunshot wound to the neck. They were sitting on a sofa when they were killed, Ms. Garrison said. Discovered at the second scene were the bodies of Shelley Williams, 63, and his wife, Lizzie Williams, 60. Each died from a single gunshot wound to the neck. They were sitting on a sofa when they were killed, Ms. Garrison said.
A resident of the neighborhood, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the gunman was still being sought at the time of the interview and she feared for her safety, said she was home with her mother when they heard four gunshots in the first shooting. Sheriff’s deputies found Mr. Hawes’s body in his house about midnight. He died of what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to the head and had apparently tried, and failed, to set the house on fire, Capt. Shedd said.
“My mother was like, ‘That’s a whole bunch of shooting,’” the resident said. A resident of the neighborhood, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the gunman was still being sought at the time of the interview, said she was home with her mother when they heard four gunshots in the first shooting.
“My mother was like, ‘That’s a whole bunch of shooting,’ ” the resident said.
At first, she said, they thought it was someone hunting in the woods.At first, she said, they thought it was someone hunting in the woods.
“We just kind of peeked out,” she said, adding that they saw a man leave from the victims’ home in a car. “After we saw him go off, we were like, ‘That’s not right.’” “We just kind of peeked out,” she said, adding that they saw a man leave from the victims’ home in a car. “After we saw him go off, we were like, ‘That’s not right.’ ”
Then, she said, another resident — a relative of the victims — who had gone to the house to investigate started screaming, “Call 911! Call 911!” she said.Then, she said, another resident — a relative of the victims — who had gone to the house to investigate started screaming, “Call 911! Call 911!” she said.
The resident said she entered the home with the relative and could see two people in chairs were already dead and another person was slumped over and bleeding profusely.The resident said she entered the home with the relative and could see two people in chairs were already dead and another person was slumped over and bleeding profusely.
She said the road late on Friday was teeming with police officers, some of them carrying machine guns. She said the road late on Friday was teeming with police officers, some of them with assault rifles.
The location where three of the victims were shot is set amid a cluster of small one- and two-bedroom clapboard homes in a historically African-American neighborhood called King Villa.The location where three of the victims were shot is set amid a cluster of small one- and two-bedroom clapboard homes in a historically African-American neighborhood called King Villa.
The other home, where the second shooting occurred, is on a high embankment.The other home, where the second shooting occurred, is on a high embankment.
A woman named Tonya Dent was leaving the house on the embankment Friday night. Her affect was sad but calm, and she offered scant detail, though she did say, “A husband and wife were killed here.” A woman named Tonya Dent was leaving the house on the embankment Friday night. She appeared sad but calm and offered scant detail, though she did say, “A husband and wife were killed here.”
She also said that all five victims were members of her extended family.She also said that all five victims were members of her extended family.
“All I know is my family’s gone,” she said.“All I know is my family’s gone,” she said.
On Friday night, a group of about 30 people stood in the yard, apparently gathered in prayer, illuminated by a single streetlamp and the flickering blue lights from sheriff’s cruisers.On Friday night, a group of about 30 people stood in the yard, apparently gathered in prayer, illuminated by a single streetlamp and the flickering blue lights from sheriff’s cruisers.