With 3 shootings, crime surge claims more lives in CSRA

BEECH ISLAND, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - A rash of deadly crime continues in the CSRA, with a man found slain in Aiken County just a couple of says after two men were shot dead just across the Savannah River in Augusta.

The latest report of a shooting came from Beech Island, where Aiken County Sheriff’s Office investigators were called Monday morning.

They responded to the 100 block of Spann Hammond Road when a bicyclist called 911 after finding a male dead around 8:08 a.m. near124 Spann Hammond Road.

When deputies and Aiken County emergency medical crews arrived, the victim appeared to have a gunshot wound to his body and was pronounced deceased on the scene.

Investigators and the Aiken County Coroner’s Office were called to the scene.

The victim has been identified as 27-year-old Deandre Gaiters.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

Across the river, Augusta’s latest slayings happened just about an hour apart over the weekend.

The first one was reported around 9:20 p.m. in the 2100 block at the end of B Street at the Lake Olmstead Homes.

Once deputies arrived on the scene, they found out a male victim had been shot.

According to the Richmond County Coroner’s Office, that victim was 22-year-old Kyan Michael Bowie, of Hephzibah.

He was transported by a private vehicle to a hospital, where he was eventually pronounced deceased.

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Then at 10:23 p.m., deputies then responded to the 2200 block of Old Savannah Road to investigate a report of a shooting.

Upon arrival, deputies found Tymarkus Dashawn Starkes, 20, who had been shot at least once and was dead on the scene.

The Richmond County Coroner’s Office said autopsies have been scheduled for both victims.

The latest slayings are among nearly 50 victims of an outbreak of deadly crimes that’s swept the CSRA since spring. Many of the victims have been young men and teenagers.

As the largest city, Augusta has been hit especially hard, but the outbreak has touched communities large and small.

Deputies have blamed much of the violence on gangs.

The shooting at the Olmstead Homes was the second one since mid-April in the 2100 block of B Street. A shooting there just before 7:30 p.m. on April 23 claimed the life of Rodriquez Dunn, 31. Dunn suffered at least one gunshot wound and died at the scene.

Also, a fatal shooting happened earlier this year just a couple of blocks away from the weekend’s shooting on Old Savannah Road. On April 18, Johnnie Coleman was found shot dead in the 1900 block of the road.

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