Mothers fed up with Augusta gun violence speak out, chastise city leaders

Augusta mothers gathered on Broad Street Tuesday for "Wake Up Augusta," a rally against gun violence, following a recent shooting in downtown.

Aside from the June 8 multi-block shootout on Broad Street, two shootings were reported over the weekend.

Organizer Garian Henry said her daughter was downtown at the time of the shooting and had to take cover.

"They were scared because they didn't know whether they were going to be shot," Henry said. "My daughter called to tell me that she loved me and I was just so distraught."

Police radio: 'We need to start clearing these streets': Police radio captures downtown Augusta shootout

Henry held a similar rally in 2019 after her friend was murdered, but paused because of the pandemic.

"We need to raise awareness in the community and let our elected officials know we are tired of what is going on in the city," Henry said. "I was telling a young lady about the organization and what was going on today – she was like, 'This is pointless, it's not going to solve anything.' If everybody felt the way she did, then we wouldn't have the rights we have today. If the civil rights leaders or veterans who fought in wars just said 'this is pointless,' where would our freedom be. I'm going to march."

Artia Jones, the mother of 20-year-old Kevin Coatney Jr., who was fatally shot in a parking lot while attempting to leave Club 706 on Deans Bridge Road in January 2022, was also in attendance.

"I get involved with anything pertaining to bringing awareness to gun violence and getting justice for my son," Jones said. "My family goes out to neighborhoods passing out flyers and I conduct the 'Stop the Gun Violence' basketball tournament every year in honor of my son and other gun violence victims."

Jones said as a parent, she is upset because the Richmond County Sheriff's Office is not doing enough.

"I can't tell you the amount of emails that I have sent to our senior leaders about coming out and speaking to our children, or taking the time to come out [to our basketball tournament] where we honor about eight families every year. No response," she said. "I called the sheriff's office about doing a 'take the guns off the streets' drive. No response. The sheriff [Richard Roundtree] is always saying, 'It takes a community,' but we're [the only ones] out here. I'm a mother who lost my child, and I'm still fighting, but there's no answer."

Both Henry and Jones said they reached out to some commissioners and never received responses.

"In this city, no one's responding," Jones said. "How can we come together as a community when our leaders are not keeping their side of the bargain."

Similar to other cold cases in the area, Jones said the sheriff's office is not in regular contact with her family – despite the family offering a $10,000 reward to help solve the case.

She said regular communication with victims' families and providing protection for witnesses who are afraid to speak up could help solve some of the cases.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta mothers gather downtown for gun violence prevention rally