Columbus Police Department named Agency of the Year (CPD)/NowGeorgia.com
The Columbus Police Department has been named the recipient of the Georgia Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates’ Phyllis Goodwin Agency of the Year Award. The award was presented during the organization’s annual ceremony in Savannah, GA
The award recognizes a law enforcement agency that demonstrates strong leadership, progress, and commitment to professional excellence. CPD was selected for its recent work in reducing crime, increased staffing, leadership development, and modernization.
Like many agencies across the country, CPD faced its share of challenges in recent years. What followed was a deliberate and strategic reset that focused on accountability, community policing, and taking care of the men and women who do the work.
In less than two years, the department reached full staffing, improved officer pay, boosted morale, and made major investments in technology. Those efforts include the implementation of Columbus’ first Real Time Crime Center, expanded camera and license plate reader programs, upgraded body-worn and in-car cameras, drone capabilities, and
modernized records and dispatch systems.
The results have been measurable; Part I crime has dropped more than 30% over the past two years, with violent crime down 29% in the most recent year. Case clearance rates now exceed national averages, and CPD’s technology model has drawn interest from agencies across Georgia and beyond.
“This award belongs to our officers, professional staff, and their families,” Chief Stoney Mathis said. “They showed up, stayed focused, and kept doing the job the right way, even when it wasn’t easy.”
The Georgia Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates is made up of law enforcement leaders who have completed the FBI National Academy, one of the most respected executive training programs in policing. The Phyllis Goodwin Agency of the Year Award is one of the chapter’s highest honors. The recognition reflects CPD’s renewed
focus on community policing, professionalism, accountability, and results that the community can see and feel.
Cody Flournoy named new football coach (Phenix City School District)/NowGeorgia.com
Phenix City Schools has selected Cody Flournoy as the next head football coach at
Central High School. Flournoy arrives from Jackson High School, where he served as head coach for seven seasons. His teams won back-to-back Class 4A State Championships in 2024 and 2025, setting championship game records in passing and rushing.
“We are excited to welcome Coach Flournoy to Central High School,” said Interim Superintendent Nathan Walters. “Having a leader with community involvement and high character was important to us, so that they can let their light shine as a model for our students.”
Flournoy’s coaching career includes:
● Smiths Station High School – Defensive Coordinator, 2010-2014
● Central High School (Phenix City) – Defensive Backs Coach, 2015-2016
● Beulah High School – Head Coach, 2017-2019; 2018 3A Alabama High School Coach of the Year (AFCA)
● Jackson High School – Head Football Coach; also served as Athletic Director and Head Track Coach. During his tenure, Jackson’s programs earned state titles in track and basketball.
“We are excited to have the opportunity to hire someone with a wealth of experience and a championship background,” said Matt Bell, Athletic Director for Phenix City Schools. “We think he is the right fit for our student athletes.”
Community Meet and Greet
Phenix City Schools Athletics will host a meet and greet with Coach Flournoy on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at the Indoor Athletics Facility, beginning at 6 p.m. EST. Students, families, fans, and community members are invited to attend.
Fairview Elementary School sign language interpreter April Morganfield was presented with the Service Above Self Award by the Board of Education. (Patrick Fargason/Now Habersham)
The Habersham County Board of Education on Monday recognized two educators for exceptional service to students and families, presenting the Peach State Federal Credit Union Extra Mile Award and Service Above Self Award during its January meeting.
Jamie Smith, a special education teacher at Cornelia Elementary School, received the Peach State Federal Credit Union Extra Mile Award. Board member Darlene Hudson read Smith’s nomination, which highlighted her leadership and support within the school’s special education unit.
“Jamie has gone above and beyond with ensuring the new teachers in the unit have everything they need,” Hudson said.
Smith was nominated by colleague Tara White, who worked with her last year. Hudson said Smith has devoted “countless extra hours” helping new teachers navigate district requirements, including trainings, schedules, documentation, and special education processes.
“She helps maintain the behavior of all grade-level classrooms in the unit,” Hudson said. “She counsels and offers suggestions to help with behaviors in our classrooms too.”
Hudson described Smith’s role as essential in a high-stress environment, particularly while mentoring two new teachers, one of whom was new to the unit.
“It’s a high-stress position on its own, but to take on two new teachers and guide them gracefully and without complaint is a task that deserves recognition,” Hudson said. “Without her, this unit would probably be absolute chaos.”
Cornelia Elementary Special Education Teacher Jamie Smith was presented with the Extra Mile award by the Board of Education. (Patrick Fargason/Now Habersham)
The board also presented the Peach State Federal Credit Union Service Above Self Award to April Morganfield, a sign language interpreter at Fairview Elementary School. Board Vice Chair Russ Nelson read Morganfield’s nomination.
“April Morganfield exemplifies what it means to serve with heart, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to students and families,” Nelson said.
Morganfield serves as a one-on-one interpreter for a first-grade student who is deaf, but Nelson said her work quickly extended beyond daily interpreting duties.
“From the moment she arrived at Fairview, she recognized that her student needed more than daily interpreting support,” Nelson said. “She needed access — access to communication, to learning, and to meaningful relationships.”
Nelson said Morganfield began working with the student as a kindergartner who knew little sign language, patiently building vocabulary, confidence, and expressive skills so the student could fully participate in classroom life.
“What could have been a straightforward assignment became, in her hands, a mission to build a bridge where one had never existed,” Nelson said.
Each week, Morganfield set goals for learning new signs using pictures, spelling, fingerspelling, and discussion, Nelson said, strengthening both language and cultural understanding.
Her commitment extended beyond the classroom. Nelson said Morganfield initiated sign language instruction for the student’s entire family, helping the student’s mother and siblings learn more than 120 signs.
“What was once a communication barrier has transformed into a growing family language,” Nelson said.
Morganfield also worked closely with teachers, specialists, and support staff and recently helped the family attend a long-missed audiology appointment, remaining with them as they received difficult news that the student’s hearing would not improve.
“She offered strength, understanding, and reassurance,” Nelson said.
Nelson described Morganfield as “more than an interpreter,” calling her an educator, advocate, and champion for her student.
“She breaks down barriers, opens doors, and creates possibility where none existed before,” he said. “Her work is the definition of service above self.”
Both awards are presented by Peach State Federal Credit Union to recognize school employees whose dedication and compassion extend far beyond their daily responsibilities.
Sen. Kim Jackson leads a press conference introducing Democratic bills intended to limit ICE’s power in Georgia. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
(Georgia Recorder) — Georgia Senate Democrats unveiled a raft of proposed bills Tuesday that they say will protect Georgians from what they characterized as a rogue federal government using immigration enforcement to terrorize citizens.
“As this regime has sought to build a wall against progress, the progress of achieving America’s values and ideals, we must build a wall against (President Donald Trump),” said Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones. “And the legislation presented here today is a step towards protecting all of Georgia’s citizens and making sure that we continue to pursue America’s ideals and goals.”
The bills seek to restrain the operations of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the National Guard in Georgia.
ICE, which is tasked with enforcing immigration laws, has been subject to increased scrutiny since sharply increasing the scale of its operations under the Trump administration. On Jan. 7, an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Minneapolis resident Renee Good in her car, sparking widespread protests of the federal agency’s tactics nationwide, including in Georgia.
Identifying ICE agents
Georgia State Sen. Kim Jackson of Stone Mountain (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Stone Mountain Democratic Sen. Kim Jackson’s Senate Bill 389 requires ICE agents to display badges and bans them from wearing face coverings while on duty other than for medical or safety reasons or while conducting covert operations.
“We have men who are unidentifiable roaming our streets, snatching up people and taking them and then they are able to commit crimes and hide because we don’t even know their identity,” Jackson said. “So my bill will call for ICE agents to take off their mask to show their face.”
Critics of ICE’s tactics say agents wear masks and cover their badges to avoid being identified and held accountable for violence or illegal behavior.
Supporters of the agency, like Savannah Republican Rep. Jesse Petrea, say masking has become a necessity because agents and their families have had their personal information published and received threats after their faces have appeared on social media.
“Clearly the reason the masks are out there is the progressive left has been doxxing them and endangering their families and threatening their families and threatening them in a very personal way. That’s unacceptable,” Petrea said. “So if they want to mask themselves, that’s perfectly fine with me.”
Petrea said ICE agents have experienced steep increases in threats and attacks since Trump took office last January, which Petrea calls politically motivated. The Trump administration has pursued a mass deportation campaign.
National Guard deployments
Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Senate Bill 390, which was sponsored by Jones, aims to codify that National Guard troops cannot be stationed in Georgia without the permission of the governor unless the deployed troops are “in the service of the United States and are acting under authority that is validly invoked by the President of the United States.”
Trump has deployed National Guard troops to cities including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon, Chicago and Memphis. The Trump administration has argued that the deployments are necessary to prevent crime, while Democrats argue they are illegal shows of force.
The bill would have no effect on the Georgia National Guard deployment to Washington announced by Gov. Brian Kemp in September.
ICE out of schools, churches
Sen. Nabilah Parkes. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Duluth Democratic Sen. Nabilah Parkes’ SB 391 would require a judicial warrant for any state, local or federal agency to conduct immigration operations at a school, college campus, public place of worship, hospital, public library or family violence shelter.
“Kids should be focused on learning, not fear, and parents should be able to drop their children off at school knowing it is a place of stability and not disruption, and no one should get dragged out of their home or workplace without a judicial warrant,” said Parkes, who is running for Georgia insurance commissioner. “That’s basic constitutional due process.”
Suing ICE
Sandy Springs Democratic Sen. Josh McLaurin said he introduced SB 397 to allow Georgians to bring civil action against federal officials who violate Georgians’ constitutional rights.
Sen. Josh McLaurin. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
McLaurin said the bill’s passage would make ICE agents face the same potential legal consequences as state and local law enforcement officers for violating Georgians’ rights.
“ICE does not currently face that threat in Georgia, which means they know that if they act unchecked, nothing will happen to them,” he said. “A personal lawsuit against ICE agents under Georgia law is essential to deterring ICE agents from ever committing these crimes in the first place.”
A difficult road
Jackson acknowledged that bills restricting ICE operations will have a tough time achieving passage in a Republican-dominated state during an election year.
“We understand that the road to the governor’s desk is quite limited, that path is narrow, but we also stand here and hope that common sense and good policy might persuade a few of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stand up and to resist and to be a part of good policy making on behalf of the good people of Georgia,” she said.
But Petrea argued that the good people of Georgia already have good immigration policy.
Petrea said Georgia has not seen major ICE activities as in states like Minnesota in part because of state law requiring local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with ICE.
In 2024, Kemp signed Petrea’s “Criminal Alien Track and Report Act.”
In an interview Tuesday, Petrea said that cooperation makes immigration enforcement safer for everyone.
“They’re going straight to ICE when they’re requested, so ICE is just picking them up and taking the bad guys out,” he said. “You don’t have to go into the community and break down doors when the bad guys, in this instance, are handed over to you by law enforcement.”
FILE - South Carolina Rep. RJ May, R-West Columbia, walks down the aisle of the House on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Collins,File)
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Prosecutors are asking a judge to sentence a former Republican South Carolina legislator to 20 years in prison for sending hundreds of child sex abuse videos to people across the country on social media as he advocated for several laws meant to protect kids.
RJ May is asking the judge for mercy and a five-year sentence, saying he was addicted to pornography and screens made worse by an increased sex drive from testosterone treatments. He said he wants a chance outside prison to be an example of how easily porn can destroy lives and families.
Judge Cameron McGowan Currie will listen to both sides Wednesday before handing down her decision in a federal courtroom just blocks from where May used to be a member of the South Carolina House.
May, 39, pleaded guilty in September to what prosecutors in court papers called a “five-day child pornography spree” in the spring of 2024.
May, who resigned earlier this year, is accused of using the screen name “joebidennnn69” to exchange 220 different files of toddlers and young children being sexually abused on the Kik social media network, according to court documents that graphically detail the videos.
Prosecutors said May revictimized those children every time he shared a file. They said his crime showed extra hypocrisy as he voted eight times for laws protecting children or strengthening penalties for abusing them.
“May operated an abusive and degrading child pornography distribution scheme that harmed and continues to harm hundreds of children. He sought out minors being sexually abused by their parents, and when he found those files, he sent them to others. He chose to amplify and compound their abuse,” prosecutors wrote in their brief asking for the 20-year sentence.
Guidelines from federal probation officials call for a sentence between about 17 to 22 years for May.
Defense attorneys are asking for less than that, but they did not make a specific request in court papers. May wrote a note to the judge saying he was sorry several times and asking for a five-year sentence, pointing out he will never watch his son’s soccer games or have tea in his home with his daughter again.
“My arrest marked the swift and total destruction of all my hopes and dreams. Every plan has been shattered. Every worldly possession is gone. I have been made penniless. My crimes have been published to a global audience. I have brought shame and embarrassment to friends and family alike. My wife has left me,” May wrote.
May’s request for mercy included seven letters from his relatives detailing how May had an abusive mother but still thrived to end up near the top of his class and earning the William Jefferson Clinton Scholarship in 2008 to study Middle Eastern Studies at the American University in Dubai. His father promised May could live on his Virginia farm and work when he is released.
Prosecutors included statements from several victims detailing how the videos keep being passed around and haunt them well into their adulthood.
May will have to pay $72,000 in restitution to the victims, register as a sex offender for the rest of his life and can’t vote or own a gun because he is a convicted felon.
May was in his third term in the South Carolina House and was attacking fellow Republicans to go in a more conservative direction before he was arrested.
“We as legislators have an obligation to insure that our children have no harm done to them,” May said in January 2024 on the House floor during a debate on transgender care for minors.
Alto City Council Post 4 member Eddie Palmer takes the oath of office administered by Mayor Gail Armour during swearing-in ceremonies on Jan. 13, 2026. Palmer will serve as the council's mayor pro tem for the upcoming year. (Carly McCurry/NowHabersham.com)
ALTO, Ga. — Eddie Palmer is Alto’s new mayor pro tem following a unanimous vote by the city council on Tuesday.
During the council’s first meeting of the new year on Jan. 13, members also appointed David Syfan as city attorney and approved the reappointment of Judge Robert Sneed as municipal court judge.
Alto Mayor Gail Armour administered the oath of office to new and returning members of the city council. Former Mayor Audrey Turner attended the meeting to observe the swearing-in ceremony and support her husband, Post 2 Councilmember James Turner.
Alto Mayor Gail Armour administers the oath of office to Allen Fox, who was sworn in to serve on the Alto City Council for Post 3 on Jan. 13, 2026. (Carly McCurry/NowHabersham.com)
Alto Mayor Gail Armour administers the oath of office to Post 5 City Councilmember Debbie Turner. (Carly McCurry/NowHabersham.com)
John Smith is sworn in to serve as Alto Post 1 City Councilmember during the Jan. 13 meeting at Alto City Hall. (Carly McCurry / Now Habersham)
The Alto City Council meets on the second Tuesday of every month.
East Hall High School earned the silver recognition from the AP School honor roll. (photo submitted)
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Four Hall County high schools have been named to the 2025 AP School Honor Roll based on May 2025 Advanced Placement exam data, according to a press release from Stan Lewis, the district’s director of communications.
Cherokee Bluff High School, Chestatee High School and Flowery Branch High School earned Bronze recognition, while East Hall High School received Silver recognition.
The AP School Honor Roll, administered by the College Board, recognizes schools that expand access to Advanced Placement coursework while maintaining strong academic performance.
“AP gives students opportunity to engage with college-level work, earn college credit and placement, and build professional career skills they can use no matter what path they choose after high school,” said Trevor Packer, head of the AP program. “Congratulations to this year’s AP School Honor Roll recipients for proving it’s possible to expand participation in these rigorous courses and still drive strong performance.”
AP exams are administered by the College Board. Students who earn scores of 3, 4 or 5 on an AP exam are eligible to receive college credit at many colleges and universities.
Lewis said the recognition is especially meaningful for Hall County Schools, where students also pursue other rigorous academic pathways, including dual enrollment and the International Baccalaureate program offered at three high schools, reflecting the district’s commitment to college-level opportunities.
Hall County schools recognized on the 2025 AP School Honor Roll include:
Cherokee Bluff High School — Bronze
Chestatee High School — Bronze
East Hall High School — Silver
Flowery Branch High School — Bronze
The College Board evaluates schools across three categories for the AP School Honor Roll: College Culture, College Credit and College Optimization. Bronze and Silver recognition levels require schools to meet or exceed benchmarks in all three areas.
Hall County Schools congratulated students, teachers and administrators for their continued focus on academic rigor and student achievement, Lewis said.
Former Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan speaks during a news conference as the new Atlanta Falcons president of football, along with Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Matt Ryan said he is motivated to take care of unfinished business in his new role as the Atlanta Falcons president of football.
Ryan was named the 2016 NFL MVP after leading the Falcons to the Super Bowl in the highlight of his 14 years as the team’s starting quarterback. Even so, the Falcons never won the championship and now Ryan has a new opportunity to help the team win its first title.
Ryan’s first priority is leading the search for a new coach and general manager.
“To the Falcons fans, my mission since I was drafted has never changed,” Ryan said Tuesday in his first news conference since being named president of football on Saturday. “It is to help this organization do everything it can to be champions and to win championships.
“And there is a sense of unfinished business.”
The Falcons fired coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot after an 8-9 finish. Falcons owner Arthur Blank also made front office changes, including the creation of the president of football position.
Ryan takes over the leadership of football operations from Greg Beadles, who remains president and CEO. The new coach and general manager will report to Ryan, who Blank said Tuesday is in charge of “everything between football and grass.”
“We feel he’s a perfect choice,” said Blank of Ryan, adding he spoke with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “and made him aware we were chatting with Matt. And his response was that, you know, you’re not going to find anybody better, smarter, more committed, a better human being, a better leader for the NFL and for your franchise.”
While Ryan is charged with setting the course for the team, he emphasized he won’t interfere with the traditional decisions handled by the coach and general manager.
When asked when he first considered seeking a front-office position with an NFL team, Ryan said “I didn’t” during his three years an an NFL analyst for CBS.
“I was really happy with what I was doing at that time with CBS and excited about that opportunity,” Ryan said. “And I want to make it clear. This is the only place I would do it, and I feel really connected to this organization and have my entire life or adult life.”
Ryan worked on the CBS pregame show on Sunday and said he hoped at this time next year the crew is discussing the Falcons in the playoffs.
“I believe there’s a lot of young, talented players on the defensive side of the ball,” Ryan said. “We’ve got some offensive linemen who are really, really solid, some of which I played with, which is kind of crazy, but really cool. I think we’ve got a special running back in Bijan (Robinson) and what he can do as a player. We’ve got some talented pieces on the outside.
“There’s a lot of good pieces that are here, but I also recognize it’s hard. I mean, it’s difficult to win in this league and it takes everyone, it takes everybody coming together and pulling their weight. And so I’m excited about what’s here. I think there are a lot of strong pieces, and certainly confident in the players that we have in our building.”
Ryan also said “I love” quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who is recovering from season-ending surgery on his left knee.
The Falcons interviewed six head coach candidates in Ryan’s first three days, including former Baltimore coach John Harbaugh and former Miami coach Mike McDaniel on Monday. Beadles said the team has only interviewed coaches, not candidates to be GM, because “there are specific windows when we can talk to coaches.”
Blank said he hoped the new coach and general manager can be hired at about the same time.
“It’s important we land both these planes about at the same time, because there has to be collaboration between these two individuals,” Blank said.
Ryan’s wife, Sarah, and three sons — twins Marshall and Johnny and youngest son Cal — attended the news conference. The boys wore Ryan’s Falcons jerseys. When Cal grew restless during the hour-long news conference, Ryan noted his ability to continue answering questions proved he can multitask.
SB 204, sponsored by Trenton Republican Sen. Colton Moore, prohibits local governments from regulating firearm storage, effectively overturning ordinances like Savannah’s requirement to lock guns in vehicles. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
(Georgia Recorder) — The Georgia Senate on Tuesday passed its first bill of the session, which would ban local governments from requiring gun owners to lock their firearms in vehicles.
The bill, Senate Bill 204, passed by a 32-21 vote after a short debate over the balance between local public safety initiatives and statewide Second Amendment protections. The measure, which was carried over from last year, now heads to the governor.
“You see, we are the supreme lawmaking authority in this state, not some liberal municipality,” said Trenton Republican Sen. Colton Moore, who sponsored the bill and who argued on the Senate floor that the bill would restore “freedom back into the hands of the citizenry.”
The bill specifically targets ordinances like one enacted in Savannah, which requires firearms to be secured in locked vehicles to prevent theft and establishes a maximum penalty of $1,000 in fines and 30 days in jail for people who leave them inside unlocked vehicles. Under SB 204, no county or municipality may regulate the storage of firearms through zoning, ordinance or resolution.
The bill would allow gun owners affected by such a local ordinance to sue the local authority. Those who prevail can recover at least $25,000 plus attorney’s fees.
Moore claimed Tuesday that the ordinance has turned car theft victims into criminals.
“You can travel the state freely, knowing that you’re not going to be a victim of a crime and then be made a criminal, as we’ve seen in Savannah, Georgia,” Moore said during the floor debate.
Tuesday was Moore’s last day in the Senate. He is stepping down to run in the special election to replace former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene.
In November, a Chatham County judge threw out a case against a man cited under the ordinance, which the judge ruled violates Georgia law and the U.S. Constitution, the Associated Press reported at the time.
A separate challenge is still pending and “should be ready for trial in a couple months,” according to John Monroe, a lawyer representing the suing parties.
Attorney General Chris Carr filed an amicus brief in the lawsuit, saying that the ordinance violates the Georgia Assembly’s authority over county or city ordinances.
“Courts give that mandate effect through the doctrine of state pre-emption: local ordinances regulating matters the General Assembly has claimed are ultra vires and void,” Carr, who is a candidate for governor, wrote in the brief.
Sen. Derek Mallow, a Democrat from Savannah, defended his city’s ordinance, saying that it regulated the car, not the gun itself, and that the Savannah ordinance has been an effective tool in reducing gun violence.
“This has reduced gun thefts by over 30% in one year, in the city of Savannah alone. The city overwhelmingly supports the Second Amendment, but they also believe that public safety is at risk when guns are stolen from unlocked cars,” Mallow said, adding that leaving loaded firearms in unlocked vehicles allows them to fall into the wrong hands.
One of the largest employers in Metro Columbus is celebrating a 70th birthday. From humble beginnings in Columbus, Georgia, to becoming an international Fortune 500 powerhouse and a household name, Aflac’s journey is a testament to innovation and a commitment to protecting policyholders.
Founded on Nov. 17, 1955, by principal founder John Amos and his brothers Paul and Bill Amos, the company began as the American Family Life Insurance Company of Columbus. It quickly identified a niche in supplemental insurance as a pioneer of cancer insurance in 1957, a bold and trailblazing move that would help define its legacy.
Throughout the decades that followed, Aflac continued its ongoing legacy by expanding offerings, entering the Japan market, and introducing the Aflac Duck, a global cultural icon that drove brand recognition to where about nine out of 10 people recognize the Aflac brand.
For seven decades, Aflac has remained a company that leads in the industry and gives back to the communities for which they serve. Aflac has enriched the lives of millions of policyholders, shareholders, sales agents and brokers, as well as childhood cancer and blood disorder patients and their families.
ROYSTON, Ga. — An 18-year-old man was shot Monday night at a Royston-area vape shop, and a suspect is now in custody, according to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies were called at 8:32 p.m. Jan. 12 to a reported shooting at a commercial business off Franklin Springs Street in Royston. The location is the Royston Tobacco and Vape store inside Tri-County Plaza, near the intersection of Georgia Highway 29 and Cook Street.
When deputies arrived, they found a teen from Hartwell suffering from a gunshot wound. First responders rendered aid at the scene before the victim was transported for further medical treatment.
The sheriff’s office said another Hartwell resident, 21-year-old Suhail Mohamed, has been taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault in connection with the shooting.
Authorities say the incident appears to be isolated and that there is no ongoing threat to the public.
The initial response included officers from the Franklin Springs Police Department, Royston Police Department, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, which is now leading the investigation.
“We would like to thank the initial officers on scene who provided aid and comfort, and to all the first responders who assisted,” Franklin Springs Police said in a statement Monday night. “We are praying for the person injured this evening and ask our community to keep them in their thoughts and prayers.”
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said the investigation remains active and ongoing, and additional charges may be forthcoming.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 706-384-2525.
Flames consume a house in Mt. Airy early on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2026. No one was injured in the blaze. (Photo by Katie Stove)
MT. AIRY, Ga. — Firefighters responded to an early morning residential fire on Harris Street in Mt. Airy that heavily damaged a home and left the occupants displaced in subfreezing temperatures.
Habersham County Emergency Services responded to the residential structure fire at approximately 3:58 a.m. at 237 Harris Street, according to Habersham County Public Information Officer Ashlyn Brady.
A nearby resident, Katie Stover, said she first noticed something was wrong while getting ready for work.
“I wake up every morning to go to work, and just like routine, I go into my bathroom, and I was thinking our neighbors got a new outside light because it was really bright,” Stover said. “I pulled back the curtain and saw the house in flames.”
Stover said she immediately called 911 before taking photos of the fire.
“I scattered looking for my phone and dialed 911,” she said. “The fire was so hot the window in my bathroom was hot to the touch. I could see the roof, what seemed like it was just melting off.”
Flames burn through the roof in the early morning blaze. The fire gutted the house, displacing the residents. (Daniel Purcell/NowGeorgia.com)
When crews arrived, they found the approximately 1,000-square-foot, single-story residence 80 to 90 percent involved in fire. Due to intense fire conditions and a roof collapse believed to have occurred before emergency personnel arrived, firefighters launched a defensive attack from the outside, Brady said.
Stover said she later saw one of the residents return to the scene.
“One of the ladies that lives there pulled up,” she said. “My husband heard her scream, but that’s about all I know as far as the people that live there.”
Firefighters at the scene of a house fire at 237 Harris Street in Mt. Airy, Georgia, on Jan. 13, 2026. (Daniel Purcell/NowGeorgia.com)A first responder on the scene of the fire. (Daniel Purcell/NowGeorgia.com)
Firefighters made their way inside the home and continued battling the blaze while searching for occupants. They confirmed no one was inside the house and everyone was safely accounted for, Brady said.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze and began overhaul operations. Crews remained on scene through the morning hours, putting out hot spots to prevent the fire from reigniting.
(Daniel Purcell/NowGeorgia.com)
The Georgia State Fire Marshal’s Office responded to the scene and has taken over the investigation. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
