AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Another deadly shooting on Fifth Street in Augusta pushed the total to three in four days.

The coroner says Tuesday morning’s victim is Cynthia Wright. Deputies say they found her near the Union Agener Animal Health Distribution Center with a gunshot wound around 6 a.m.

We’re told she died hours later. Right now, deputies say no one has been arrested.

While deputies haven’t mentioned whether there is any connection, we’ve now had four deadly shootings in public places, like gas stations or outside businesses, since July in Augusta.

Data we got from the sheriff’s agency shows July was the worst month for shootings and homicides in the past five years.

Sheriff Richard Roundtree responds that violent crime can happen anywhere within our city, which he attributes mainly to a growing population within the past 10 years and a rise in unkept firearms.

Moving forward, he’s asking for the community’s help to combat gun violence.

“The gun violence and the homicide rate is up all over the nation. This is not an Augusta trend. This is something happening nationwide,” he said.

Within the past five years, Augusta is set to hit some records. Last year we saw a total of 305 combined homicide and aggravated assault with gun cases, an average of just over 25 a month.

This year, 225 so far, an average of just over 28.

“As that grows, unfortunately, crime follows growth in certain cities,” said Roundtree. “Violent crime can happen anywhere. There is no such place in the city that violent crime can not happen.”

Based on 2019 FBI data, CBS News ranks Augusta as the 32nd most dangerous city in America based on the number of shootings per capita.

The sheriff currently has forces in the worst hotspots and high-tech cameras, but says they can’t be everywhere at once.

“We’re always concerned about the gun violence we’re having within our community,” he said.

The sheriff says the best way to combat this is by being accountable of firearms.

“Even the securing of weapons within your home, or car, can lead to a reduction in the violent crimes in this city and that’s what we’re trying to get our public to understand that it has to be a community effort and not just strictly a law enforcement effort,” he said.

Augusta shootings

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of gunshots at the Circle K gas station at 2574 Tobacco Road on Sunday.

When deputies got to the scene, they found a man who had been shot at least one time. The victim was taken to Augusta University Medical Center and later died from his injuries at 12:50 p.m.

The Richmond County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 48-year-old Samuel DeWayne Jackson, of the 100 block of Telfair Street.

Deputies said they arrested and charged Donald Gross, 61, on suspicion of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of the crime.

And another shooting on Saturday took place at a home in the 100 block of Vanderbilt Circle just before 2:45 a.m.

When deputies got to the scene, they found one man dead with a gunshot wound. He was identified as 29-year-old Nakendrick Dewayne Glover of the 2400 block of Amsterdam Drive.

There’s no word on whether a suspect has been arrested in the investigation.

Fatal fight in Columbia County

On Monday afternoon, deputies were sent to investigate a report of a fight in progress at 206 Evans Lake Drive.

When deputies arrived, they found 61-year-old Howard Winning unresponsive in the bathroom. He was ultimately pronounced dead.

Anthony Burns, 41, was taken into custody. Burns has been charged with murder and was held with no bond, according to deputies.

A deadly spring and summer

The CSRA has been enduring an outbreak of deadly crimes since at least mid-April. About 30 people have been slain or found dead under suspicious circumstances in communities large and small.

Among the cases:

• Damien Tanksley, 35, was fatally shot Aug. 4 at the Get-N-Go store on the 2350 block of Windsor Spring Road in Augusta.
• On July 27, 16-year-old Kaymaya Greene of Augusta was shot at the Economy Inn on Deans Bridge Road. She was taken to the hospital and later died from her injuries. Demarcus Clark, 19, of Augusta was arrested.
• On July, 26, Anthony Lee Flowers, 33, was shot at a corner store on Wheeless Road. Frederick McNeal, 62, of Augusta, was arrested.
• On July 20, Keshia Chanel Geter, 36, from Eastover, S.C., was found shot dead at the Knights Inn on Boy Scout Road. Jaquarie Allen, 22, of Augusta, was arrested.
• On July 10, the body of Morris Harden, 58, of Augusta, was found just off the roadway in the 1200 block of Watkins Pond Road in Burke County. So far, three men have been arrested and charged in his death.
• On July 9, Nicholas Jovantay Hall, 31, of Swainsboro, was shot dead on Stokes Avenue in the Emanuel County community of Twin City. Peggy Ann Milton, 34, was arrested.
• On July 5, authorities discovered the body of 65-year-old Bobby Miller, who’d been shot dead in a closet at 5274 Dogwood Drive just outside North Augusta. His son, Jason Glenn Miller, 42, has been arrested.
• On July 2, Barry J. Redding, 39, and Stephan A. Poole, 40, of Aiken, were shot dead at a Days Inn hotel at 2654 Columbia Highway North in Aiken County. The suspect has been identified as Hasheem Keywaun Rond Glover, 20, of Salley.
• On June 30, Thaddeus Rodregus Price, 22, of Augusta, was shot just before 1 a.m. at Sycamore Drive and Alpine Road and pronounced dead on the scene at 2:03 a.m.
• On June 26, a shooting on Wadley Drive in Aiken left three teenagers dead. Two suspects were arrested and another remains at-large in the deaths of 17-year-old Willie L. Garrett IV, 16-year-old Ivan Perry and 16-year-old Cameron Carroll.
• Tammy Mantooth, 57, from Lola, Kansas, was pronounced dead June 23 after being found in the back of a sport utility vehicle at Azalea Park Apartments, 1814 Fayetteville Drive in Augusta. The death is considered suspicious.
• A shooting early June 19 in the 700 block of Broad Street claimed the life of 31-year-old Percy Luther Johnson of Fredericksburg, Va.
• Trevor Sumpter, 25, of Barnwell, was shot dead in the 200 block of Bomba Street in Barnwell. A suspect has been arrested.
• At 10th and Broad Street in downtown Augusta, a shooting claimed the life of 21-year-old Logan Etterle early June 12. Two suspects have been arrested.
• Also on June 12, Jakwan Gunter, 19, was found shot dead at 11th Avenue and Grand Boulevard. Deputies told News 12 they believe the shooting was gang-related.
• On June 14, Eurl Kittles, 42, of Augusta, was fatally shot at a Captain D’s restaurant at 3166 Wrightsboro Road. Authorities have arrested Ravanell Gomillion in connection with the slaying.
• On June 3 in the 100 block of Pelzer Street in Warrenville, 34-year-old Lacey Toole was shot dead by her boyfriend John Williams, who then turned the gun on himself.
• On June 2 on Summerhill Avenue, 37-year-old Yoni Vargas shot his wife, 33-year-old Rosa Salguero-Landaverde, then killed himself.
• On May 29, a shooting killed two people – 17-year-old William Mykell Lowery and 30-year-old Christopher “Scooter” Dunn – at a “Freaknik”-themed party being held at a ballpark outside Sandersville, Ga. The shooting is believed to be the result of an altercation.
• Patricia Dent, 65, was strangled to death by her boyfriend Joseph McKinnon, who then buried her body in their yard at 102 Tanglewood Drive in Trenton, authorities say. They learned of her death on May 7 after finding McKinnon dead of a heart attack he suffered while burying Dent.
• A shooting just before 7:30 p.m. on April 23 claimed the life of Rodriquez Dunn, 31, at the Olmstead Homes in the 2100 block of B Street in Augusta. Dunn suffered at least one gunshot wound and died at the scene.
• On April 19, Brittany Dougherty was found slain outside a vacant home in the 1500 block of Conklin Lane. Her death was considered suspicious from the start, but within hours the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office ruled her death a homicide.
• On April 18, Johnnie Coleman was found shot dead in the 1900 block of Old Savannah Road. Authorities released a photo of a car suspected to have been linked to that slaying. Kelvin Lewis, 33, has been arrested as a suspect in the murders of Coleman and Dougherty.
• Jenefer Holt Herron, 52, of Augusta, died late April 18 after being shot during an argument outside the Circle K at 1739 Walton Way in Augusta. Suspect Yelena Buckner, 33, of Augusta, was later found and arrested on charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, deputies reported.
• JaJuan Russell, 21, of Augusta, was fatally shot early April 17 in the 3700 block of Oslo Road in Augusta. Russell was taken to Augusta University Medical Center.
• Sandersville police found the body of a man on April 16 inside a home on Gwendolyn Street while responding to a report of a domestic dispute at the address. Santavious Louis Roberts, 35, of Sandersville, was arrested.
• Brandon Peebles, 24, of Girard, was shot around 10:45 p.m. on April 14 in the 2300 block of Prague Court. He was pronounced dead at 11:23 p.m.

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