Three people were shot and taken to the hospital after gunfire broke out in a tailgate area outside Lucy C. Laney High School on Laney Walker Boulevard in Augusta on Saturday night. The Richmond County Sheriff's Office says investigators are still working to determine what led to the shooting, and deputies arrested Aiyana Lane at the scene.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, deputies responded after the sheriff's office received multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting with multiple victims. Deputies arrived to find at least three people who had been shot, and all three were taken to a hospital for treatment. Their injuries were non-life-threatening. Authorities identified the victims as two men and one woman; their names and ages have not been released.
Investigators identified 27-year-old Aiyana Lane as the suspect. The shooting happened in the school parking lot after the school's homecoming football game, according to the same report. The sheriff's office is urging anyone with information to contact investigators, and tipsters may remain anonymous.
A Pattern of Gunfire Near Laney's Campus
Saturday's shooting is far from the first time gunfire has disrupted activity around Laney's campus or its athletic events. In August 2024, gunshots fired in the surrounding neighborhood outside Lucy C. Laney Stadium forced the evacuation and cancellation of a football game between Laney and Westside High School in the third quarter, as reported by Sports Illustrated. Two years before that, in September 2022, a game between Laney and Thomson High School was halted in the third quarter after shots were reported near the gymnasium following a fight on the visitor side of the stadium, striking two parked vehicles, per a report from WJBF News Channel 6.
The campus itself has also seen gun-related incidents. In February 2024, Richmond County deputies responded to Laney High School after a gunshot was fired inside a campus restroom, and students identified through video surveillance were detained in connection with the incident, the same WJBF report noted. Just weeks before Saturday's shooting, in September 2026, Richmond County School System police used pepper spray to break up a large fight involving multiple students on campus, which officials said stemmed from an off-campus weekend dispute, according to a report from The Augusta Press.
School Safety Concerns Extend Across the District
Richmond County's school safety challenges have not been limited to Laney. Student altercations and increased police presence at nearby T.W. Josey High School have also highlighted safety concerns across the district. The repeated disruptions underscore the backdrop against which Saturday's shooting took place.
Georgia law makes clear that firearms are not permitted at school functions regardless of broader gun rights. Under Georgia Code § 16-11-127.1, carrying or possessing a firearm within a designated school safety zone or at a school-sponsored function is a felony for unauthorized individuals, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, per Justia Law. While Georgia's 2022 Constitutional Carry law allows lawful gun owners to carry concealed handguns without a permit, the law explicitly preserves prohibitions against carrying firearms at K-12 school safety zones and athletic venues, according to Kennesaw State University's Department of Public Safety.
Part of a Wider Spike in Augusta Gun Violence
Saturday's shooting adds to an already difficult year for Richmond County law enforcement. By early September 2026, the county had recorded 15 homicides for the year, reflecting an ongoing wave of violent crime calls handled by local deputies across Augusta. Hoodline has tracked unresolved gun violence throughout the fall, including a September 29 shooting on Westfield Drive that left one person hurt, with no arrest or suspect named as of an October 1 report, as well as the killing of a 39-year-old man on Amsterdam Drive who had survived two prior shooting cases.
Lucy C. Laney Comprehensive High School has a long history in Augusta. The school was founded in 1883 and chartered in 1886.
Anyone with information about Saturday's shooting is asked to contact Richmond County investigators at 706-821-1080 or 706-821-1020. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
