Augusta boy shot dead while grabbing DoorDash delivery

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - A 13-year-old was fatally shot Tuesday morning while picking up a DoorDash delivery outside the downtown Augusta apartment building where he lived.

The victim was identified as Buddy Brown, who died at the scene of the shooting outside the Richmond Summit Apartments, 744 Broad St.

Brown was a seventh grader at Hornsby Middle School.

Richmond Summit is a place we’ve told you about several times. Neighbors there have said they have serious concerns about safety, crime, drugs and living conditions.

There have been 92 law enforcement incidents in the past six months – both dispatched and officer-initiated calls like area checks and follow-ups.

But Tuesday’s incident was more serious.

According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the location at 3:07 a.m. to investigate a gunshot in the area.

When they got there, deputies found the boy outside the midrise brick apartment building that’s across the street from the Imperial Theatre.

The coroner’s staff said the boy was getting a DoorDash delivery when he was killed.

A heavy scent of cleaning chemicals lingered Tuesday near the crime scene tape.

But Broad Street moved on throughout the day, with business as usual. People were steadily going into and out of the apartment building without a lot of chatter about Buddy.

It was a different story on social media, where hundreds of people were asking questions about what happened to the boy, whose body will undergo an autopsy.

The shooting is among dozens that have swept the CSRA in the past year, claiming more than 80 lives since mid-April.

Like Buddy, many of those people were killed by guns.

A couple of years ago, Richmond County deputies wanted to document how often they were dealing with gun violence, so they started tracking the cases.

Deputies record every gun they come in contact with that was used in a crime – even if it’s a legally owned weapon.

Here’s a look at the numbers:

• 2018: 340 guns recovered
• 2019: 358 guns recovered
• 2020: 446 guns recovered
• 2021: 331 guns recovered
• 2022: 384 guns recovered

Within the first three months of 2023, deputies have recovered 39 guns – and that doesn’t include the one that took Buddy’s life.

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