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Written by: J. Tovar
Published February 13, 2023, at 8:11 PM ET
Richmond County (January 19, 2023) – An Augusta man was arrested after Richmond County deputies found a home riddled with bullet holes and 18 shell casings outside where a family with a two and five-year-old were sleeping. Both adults in the house were transported to the hospital.
Brandon Tate was arrested five days after the shooting, where a witness said she heard four gunshots and saw two men in grey and black hoodies running down the street.
In addition to the 18 shell casings, two shots entered the house’s front door, seven or eight shots were fired into bathrooms, and one went through a bedroom window.
The two children were unharmed, but both adults were transported to Augusta University Medical Center. The male with an injury to the left side of his head, and the female with an injury to her left shoulder. The male victim told deputies he believed the family was being targeted and the attack would not be the last. The female victim refused to speak to law enforcement.
The two children stayed with neighbors while the adults sought medical attention.
Tate was charged with four counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm or knife during a crime. This case is currently pending in court.
Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]
On 01/19/23 at approximately 0347 hours, I Deputy Thompson unit 2302, was dispatched to [REDACTED BY AGENCY] Birnam Pl in reference to an Aggravated Assault. On arrival contact was made with the listed victims [VICTIM #1], and his wife [VICTIM #2] who were about to be transported to the hospital via their neighbor [REDACTED].
[VICTIM #1] stated that he and [VICTIM #2] were in bed sleeping while their kids, five year old juvenile [REDACTED BY AGENCY] and 2 year old juvenile [REDACTED BY AGENCY] were sleeping in their respective bedroom. [VICTIM #1] stated while asleep multiple gunshots came through their residence, striking [VICTIM #2] with something unknown striking his head causing it to bleed.
[VICTIM #1] stated he told his wife he felt yesterday’s attack (case #23-11134) wasn’t the last and that they were being targeted. [VICTIM #1] stated that he had a neighbor watch their kids while they were going to the hospital. I attempted to speak with [VICTIM #2] who stated that she did not wish to speak to me, advising me to ask her husband all the questions and not to ask her anything.
Gold Cross Med unit 27 arrived on the scene transporting both [VICTIM #1] and [VICTIM #2] to AUMC to be treated for their respective injuries, [VICTIM #2] having an injury on her left shoulder with [VICTIM #1] having sustained an injury on the left side of his head.
Listed witness [WITNESS #1] spoke with deputies, alleging she heard approximately four shots. According to [WITNESS #1] when looking outside she saw two BM suspects wearing Gray or Black colored hoodies and running down the street (NOD) after the shots.
In front of the residence were approximately 18 shell casings, inside the residence there were two shots through the front door, approximately 2-3 shots in the middle bathroom with 2 jackets from the rounds that were shot laying on the ground. There was a shot that came through the bedroom window and approximately 3 shots that entered through the adjacent bathroom that I counted while on scene.
Cpl. Allen unit C-21, my immediate supervisor was notified regarding the incident, and she in turn contacted CID who responded to the scene. Investigation turned over to CID, BWC was active for this call.
[End of Narrative]