The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office "confirms reports of an active shooter at the Augusta Mall and are currently present and securing the scene," the agency reported on its social media at 1:47 p.m. Tuesday.

Residents are asked to avoid the area around the mall.

Witnesses spotted an ambulance accompanied by two police vehicles leaving the mall about 2 p.m.

On April 28, 2024, a s hooting inside the mall 's Dillard's department store led to two arrests. Tybrea Elester Nicole Nelson, 24, was arrested April 29 and charged with two counts of aggravated assault. Kay-Sean Nealy, 20, was arrested after being detained in a traffic stop by Connecticut authorities.

Less than three months later, on the Fourth of July, another shooting erupted at the mall. Derek Lamont Blue, 23, of Augusta, w

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