Terry Richards
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA —
Police on Sunday said they have identified “persons of interest” in a Saturday night shooting that left a woman and a child in the hospital.
Commander Brian Childress of the Valdosta Police Department said the police are investigating the possibility the shooting could be gang-related, though he could not say for certain if gangs were involved or not.
He said the shooting was a follow-on incident to a large disturbance Saturday afternoon in the area of J.L. Lomax Park. A police report says that at 6:25 p.m., police responded to “the 500,600,700 and 800 block of J.L. Lomax, (in) reference to a large neighborhood party that covered these blocks of J.L. Lomax and all surrounding streets.”
The disturbance involved arguments between several groups and individuals, Childress said, but no one was shot in that incident.
The shooting, which took place around 8:30 p.m., was in the 1800 block of Claudia Circle. Police at the time said two groups of people were arguing when someone fired shots toward a house, and two people — a 26-year-old woman from Virginia and a nine-year-old Valdosta boy — were hit in the legs.
Both victims were taken to South Georgia Medical Center.
Childress said Sunday that both the woman and the child, whom he could not identify, were doing well. “Their injuries are not life-threatening,” he said.
Detectives worked until 4 a.m. Sunday interviewing individuals, Childress said.
No charges have been filed yet, but evidence was recovered from the scene and several individuals considered “persons of interest” were identified, he said.
Video evidence was also obtained, he said.
Police will spend the upcoming week interviewing multiple witnesses who were identified, Childress said.
