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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — The Chatham County district attorney sent a stern message to those responsible for Wednesday’s shooting at Oglethorpe Mall.
The shooting happened just before 6 p.m. Wednesday at the entrance of a store. According to Savannah Police, three people were shot, and several others were injured. As of 1 p.m. Thursday, no arrests have been made for the shooting.
DA Shalena Cook Jones addressed the media Thursday morning on the Eugene H. Gadsden Courthouse steps. She told the media this incident impacts the entire community, not just Savannah or Chatham County.
DA Cook Jones called the shooting “appalling” and a “blatant disregard for the lives of those in the mall.” She told News 3 she plans to hold those responsible accountable, and they will face the full weight of the law.
“We will not allow perpetrators… terrorists to go into our public places, our squares and our malls and instill fear in our residents and expose our public and our children to danger,” DA Cook Jones said. “This will never happen in Savannah again.”
WSAV News 3 asked the district attorney if she believes the City of Savannah and Chatham County has a gang problem. Many people on scene Wednesday stated they thought this crime was gang related.
“A wise person once told me that we are more interested in labels than we are with symptoms. Whether you call it gang violence or gun violence in America in general and in this county, we have too many guns in the hands of young people. You can call that what you want to, but that’s how I describe it and that’s how we have to attack it,” DA Cook Jones said. “One of the reasons there is confusion about whether or not there is or is not a gang problem is because we have a lack of data culture that collects evidence and intelligence about what gangs are doing, where they are gathering, and what their next move is.”
She said this case is her highest priority. The district attorney is now asking for the community’s help.
“This was deliberate and coordinated. It impacted our community as a whole. I am here to make a clarion call to our community for community response. What I am saying is that somebody knew that those young people had guns before they came to Oglethorpe Mall. Somebody in this community knew that that was going to happen. Somebody in this community knows the people who are involved, even though they haven’t been publicly identified yet. What I’m saying is that our best chance at prevention is collective collaborative community action,” DA Cook Jones said. “We need to get a grip on our young people before they get a grip on guns.”
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