AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW) — A shooting Tuesday night near Broad Street has reignited concerns among business owners about crime in an area where the city is actively working to attract new businesses to empty storefronts.
The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m. in the alley behind the Ramada Hotel, just steps from the heart of a revitalization zone between 5th and 7th Streets, where Augusta officials hope to continue drawing new businesses to vacant storefronts.
For M. Steven Fishman, owner of Sidney’s Department Store, he said the incident sounded similar to many things he saw outside the family business growing up.
“I watched cuttings and fist fights and shootings and everything else you could imagine,” Fishman said. “I can’t tell you when the last time a shooting happened in this area, but you know, it’s a block away and it’s something to be concerned about.”
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Mixed opinions on crime prevention
The shooting has sparked debate among local business owners about the best approach to preventing crime while maintaining the area’s appeal to potential new businesses.
Jake Richman, owner and head artist at Moth and Magpie Tattoo, said city officials have expressed optimism about the area’s future.
“Anyone that I’ve spoken to of any import as far as the city goes has projected that this part of Broad Street is going to be just as successful and expansive as we’re experiencing anywhere between 10th and 12th,” Richman said.
However, Richman believes comprehensive change is needed.
“We have a beautiful city and the workings towards a beautiful city if, you know, A, B, and C were to happen,” he said. “You know, one of that being the crime rate, one of them being, you know, the abandoned buildings downtown.”
Some business owners advocate for increased police presence as a solution.
Fishman said he once heard from a police Chief in Charleston, South Carolina: “The best thing about having a policeman on your corner is that the bad guys find another corner to do things in. And the reality is the police presence is part of the Augusta city dynamic.”
But Richman thinks the city should opt for more systemic changes.
“If we just accept things as they are and we’re not willing to do a systematic overhaul to be able to address these issues, then it’s going to continue happening,” he said. “And if the assumption is that, oh, well, it’s just Augusta, you know, then it will continue to be exactly that.”
Part of recent violence trend
The Tuesday night shooting adds to a recent string of violent incidents in the Augusta area. In the past month, there was a shooting at the Augusta Mall and a deputy was shot on Washington Road.
Business owners said they hope this doesn’t represent a continuing trend of violence in the community.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has not yet provided updates on whether anyone is in custody in connection with Tuesday night’s shooting.
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