Gunfight in downtown Athens

Damian Swint

By Joe Johnson

One person was arrested Sunday morning following a reported gunfight outside a popular downtown Athens nightspot.

No injuries were reported and it appears that several businesses were struck by gunfire, including Bad Moon Bar on East Clayton Street.

“Officers did respond to reports of a shooting in the area of Bad Moon on E. Clayton St.,” a police spokesperson said in a Sunday night email.

“There were no reports of anyone being struck by gunfire however, several businesses were struck by bullets.”

One police officer who was downtown called the scene chaotic, with huge crowds of young people taking to the streets of downtown on the Fourth of July holiday,

Several eyewitness accounts were posted to social media, including this from a someone who said automatic weapons were fired:

“Bad moon needs to go. Constantly guns being pulled and fired and tonight is the first time in my 5 years working downtown that I have heard automatic gunfire. Not 2 minutes before they went off I had walked out and tried to talk them down cause my friend was sitting in my truck nearby waiting for me to get off work. They told me fuck off so I got my boy to run inside and as soon as we did once again bad moon crowd starts shooting at each other. I saw multiple guys with ars and no kidding automatic gunfire erupted while we hid behind the bar right next to it.”

A police supervisor confirmed that the incident involved automatic gunfire,

One arrest was made and police continue to investigate.

At 8:51 a.m. on Sunday, 19-year-old North Bluff Road resident Damian Swint was booked into the county jail on charges that include aggravated assault, reckless conduct, possession of a firearm in the commission of certain felonies, and unlawful carrying of a weapon,

The police spokesperson confirmed that he had been involved in the shooting.