Kids nearly hit as bullets fly once again in N. Augusta neighborhood

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - In a neighborhood touched by violence twice in two weeks, overnight gunfire injured one person and sent bullets into a North Augusta home where kids were sleeping.

Just before 11 p.m. Tuesday, a male was shot multiple times when he was leaving a home in the 100 block of Chalet North Court near Bradleyville Road.

It happened just days after a similar incident Oct. 10 in the same block.

Tuesday night’s shooting left the victim with a wound to the sternum, two wounds to his left arm, one wound to his right arm and a wound to his right buttock. He was taken to an Augusta hospital by emergency medical crews but didn’t provide information about a possible suspect, according to officers.

Some children narrowly avoided the same fate – or worse.

Around the same time the man was shot, a nearby resident called police and said bullets had struck her home while her kids were in bed.

The bullets penetrated the walls in a second-floor room where an officer found three children’s beds in a row. The bullets passed near the children’s beds, with one going into a closet, one through a door and one through another wall.

A 23-year-old resident said he was just about to go upstairs to check on the kids when he heard the gunshots. He then ran into their room to make sure they were OK, then brought them into a room across the hall.

Outside, where officers found at least 22 shell casings, three cars were damaged. One of them had a shattered front passenger window, and officers saw a gun inside near the driver’s seat.

Not the first time

Amid an outbreak of violent crimes that’s claimed nearly 50 lives across the CSRA since spring, the intersection of Chalet Court North and Bradleyville is no stranger to late-night barrages of gunfire.

Just before 11 p.m. Oct. 10, police were called about gunshots in the area. They found a man with an injured hand who was driving a car with bullet holes along the passenger side from the rear fender all the way to the front tire.

He told officers he’d just left a friend’s house in the neighborhood and was making a right turn at Chalet North and Bradleyville when people started shooting at his car.

Surveying the area, officers found more than 25 shell casings from at least three guns.

Although the victim agreed to an interview with officers, authorities tried for more than 10 days to get him to come in, but he didn’t answer or return calls.

The day before this week’s shooting, officers closed the case “due to lack of victim cooperation,” police records show.

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