A Hephzibah mom has filed suit against the Augusta Housing Authority after her autistic son was killed in an alleged 2022 gang gun battle at Olmstead Homes.
Nichole Wilbon, a healthcare manager at Fort Eisenhower, filed the lawsuit Friday on behalf of her son, Kyan Michael Bowie.
Bowie, 22, was attending a birthday party at the lakefront housing project Oct. 15, 2022, when he was killed in a parade of gunfire between rival gang members, according to prior reports.
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Richmond County deputies subsequently identified five area men as suspects in the killing: Jaquez Davis, Diriuss Redd, Evyn O’Conner, Jamari Williams and Lawrence Stephens.
Witnesses claimed to police Bowie was not the intended target.
Wilbon’s complaint says housing authority personnel knew of “several gun-related incidents” at the project, yet failed to provide any security or train or supervise any security there.
Augusta’s projects are frequently the site of gun deaths, such as last week’s killing of Makel Jones, 19, at the Dogwood Terrace project.
Dogwood Terrace is where 8-year-old Arbrie Anthony was gunned down in 2022 in alleged gang warfare. Her father, Arthur Anthony, has sued the authority for failing to provide security.
The projects have also been the scene of alleged police violence. The Augusta Commission last year paid Kathy Sheppard $75,000 in a claim she was violently attacked during a wrongful arrest at Olmstead.
The mayor-appointed housing authority relies on the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office to police the projects, rather than hire security. Its newer private-public partnership developments, such as Legacy at Walton Green on 15th Street, are reportedly gated communities.
