Police: Four teens wounded in Valdosta shooting

Published 4:45 pm Monday, December 16, 2024

VALDOSTA — A fight at a Valdosta motel left four teenagers with gunshot wounds Friday, police said.

Around 11:30 p.m., officers headed to a motel in the 1700 block of West Hill Avenue after several E911 callers reported people being shot, a Valdosta Police Department report said.

Police, firefighters and EMTs found two 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old with gunshot wounds to their extremities, as well as a 17-year-old who had been shot in the torso, the statement said. All four were taken to South Georgia Medical Center for treatment; three were treated and released while the fourth was still hospitalized as of Monday but was stable, police said.

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Detectives determined a 20-year-old Valdosta man was holding a party in one of the motel rooms when a fight broke out, and the host produced a firearm. He fired the gun several times, hitting the four teens, police said.

The 20-year-old was charged with four felony counts of aggravated assault, felony criminal damage to property in the second degree and felony possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, the police report said. More arrests are expected, police said.

During the shooting, a water pipe was struck by one of the bullets.  This resulted in flooding throughout the motel.

Anyone with information on this case should contact the Valdosta Police Department Bureau of Investigative Services at 229-293-3145, the crime tip line at 229-293-3091, or file a tip online at www.valdostacity.com/police-department.