Two people killed in Saturday evening shooting in Vidalia

VIDALIA, Ga. (WTOC) - A shooting in Vidalia left two people dead over the weekend.

Now some residents are raising safety concerns.

The Vidalia Police Department said the shooting took place at East Jenkins and Epstein streets. It happened around 5 p.m. Saturday in broad daylight and witnesses say many people were outside at the time.

“Chaos and pandemonium,” Connie Williams said.

That’s how long-time Vidalia resident, Williams, described the neighborhood after Saturday’s shooting.

Police say it left 23-year-old Justin Godfrey and 18-year-old Iesha Wicker dead. Both the victims are from Soperton.

“This is not normal. It shouldn’t be this way,” Williams said.

Several members from Vidalia’s police department declined an on-camera interview for this report, but staff did say officers worked the shooting scene until early Sunday and have been following up on leads.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is assisting with this case and had crews out in the area for several hours on Monday.

Vidalia PD says officers found Godfrey and Wicker shot at the scene Saturday evening. The two were taken to a hospital where they died.

Williams said she grew up in this neighborhood and wants more to be done about the violence in the area. In another incident, a man was shot on Epstein Street last year.

“I can’t even bring my grandkids over here because they’re afraid to come here and that hurts my heart,” Williams said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Vidalia Police at 912-537-4123 or the GBI at 478-347-6988.

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