Authorities said one 16- or 17-year-old remained in critical condition after the early Sunday shooting in Midway.
MIDWAY, Ga. — Four teenagers were shot shortly after 12:30 a.m. Sunday at an establishment on Bill Carter Road in Liberty County, sending the victims to hospitals in Hinesville and Savannah as deputies began a search for the shooter or shooters.
Investigators said the victims, all ages 16 or 17, were struck during a burst of gunfire in the 400 block of Bill Carter Road, an area in Midway that was still being processed hours after sunrise. Liberty County sheriff’s officials said three teens suffered wounds that were not considered life-threatening, while a fourth was left in critical condition after being shot in the chest. The case matters now because no suspect had been publicly identified by Sunday evening, leaving detectives to piece together what happened, who was present and whether more than one gunman was involved.
Deputies were called to the scene shortly after 12:30 a.m., according to Maj. Josh Heath of the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, who said investigators were still recovering shell casings several hours later. The wounded teens were taken first for emergency treatment, with patients transported to Liberty Regional Medical Center in Hinesville and Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah. By the time deputies followed the hospital trail, they found another piece of the puzzle waiting in a parking lot: a vehicle marked by multiple bullet holes, a shattered passenger-side window and a missing rear driver-side tire. Heath said investigators could not yet confirm whether that vehicle had been used to bring one of the victims to treatment, but it quickly became part of the active inquiry as detectives worked to connect the hospital evidence to the shooting scene.
Sheriff’s officials said the victims’ injuries included wounds to the chest, shoulder, back and foot. The agency called the shooting a “heinous act of violence” and said investigators were pursuing all available leads to identify and locate the suspect or suspects. That wording underscored a central uncertainty in the case: authorities had not said whether one person fired the shots or whether several people were involved. They also had not publicly described what happened immediately before the gunfire, whether the shooting followed an argument, or how many people were gathered at the establishment when the violence broke out. Detectives continued moving through the scene after daybreak, collecting shell casings and other physical evidence that could help establish the sequence of events. By Sunday, no arrests had been announced, and no charges had been filed.
As the investigation unfolded, family members began identifying the wounded and describing the shock that raced through homes before dawn. One injured teen was identified by relatives as the brother of Dasean Leonard, who said the boy was shot in the shoulder and is expected to recover. Leonard said his brother is a student-athlete who plays basketball and football at his high school and usually keeps close to positive influences. “He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Leonard said, describing the phone call that alerted him to the shooting as frightening and disorienting. The family’s account added a human dimension to a case that, by official description alone, remained a sparse timeline of injuries, ballistics evidence and unanswered questions about who pulled the trigger.
The setting also sharpened the impact. Neighbors told local reporters the area is usually quiet, and Leonard said the violence felt out of step with the values he and his siblings were taught at home. Midway Mayor Malcolm X. Williams issued a public statement not only as mayor, he said, but as a father and grandfather. He said he was praying for the affected families and urged the community to reject the idea that such bloodshed should be accepted as normal. His statement did not add new investigative facts, but it showed how quickly the shooting had spread beyond the crime scene and hospital rooms into a broader conversation about youth safety in Liberty County. The victims’ ages, 16 and 17, made that concern more immediate and more personal for families across the county.
What happens next depends on evidence still being gathered. Investigators are expected to continue reviewing shell casings, tracing the damaged vehicle found at Liberty Regional, interviewing witnesses and sorting out who was at the Bill Carter Road location when the shooting began. Authorities had not announced a briefing date, identified a suspect or said whether surveillance video exists. They also had not said whether the shooting took place inside the establishment, outside in the parking area, or across multiple spots nearby. Those gaps are likely to shape the next phase of the inquiry. For now, the known facts are narrow but serious: four teenagers were shot, one remained in critical condition, and the sheriff’s office was still trying to determine exactly how the attack unfolded and who was responsible.
By late Sunday, the victims were receiving treatment, the crime scene had yielded shell casings and the search for the shooter was continuing. The next clear milestone will come when the sheriff’s office identifies a suspect, releases new evidence or announces arrests.
Author note: Last updated March 24, 2026.