Originally posted 10:30 a.m. Oct. 30, 2023
Updated 5:10 p.m. Oct. 30, 2023
VALDOSTA – An altercation outside a Remerton club resulted in the fatal shooting of a bartender closing up the establishment early Sunday morning.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation identified the shooting victim as 21-year-old Brianna Long.
“Long and other employees were finishing up closing down the bar after it had closed to patrons about 2 a.m. The shooting took place about 2:30 a.m. when mostly employees were left inside and a few patrons that were friends of employees,” the GBI said in a press release Monday morning.
At the request of Remerton police, the GBI initiated a murder investigation at The Pier Bar on Sunday at about 2:40 a.m. The bar is formerly known as Flip Flops.
Responding GBI agents met with Remerton police and Valdosta Police Department crime scene investigators to begin interviewing witnesses, collecting evidence, and processing the scene, the GBI statement said.
The gunfire came from outside the venue and struck Long as she was finishing her work with another co-worker. She was taken to South Georgia Medical Center where she later died from her injuries. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday at the GBI Crime Lab, the release said.
A suspect was not named in the release.
“This shooting was senseless and believed to have stemmed from some type of altercation that took place outside The Pier. Regardless, an innocent person was killed due to someone else’s careless actions. Many people were endangered by these actions that took place. Additional patrons were outside still in the parking lot when the shooting took place. This business and multiple vehicles that were parked outside were shot up during the gunfire,” the release said.
A Valdosta State University spokesperson said Long, of Dallas, Ga., was pursuing dental hygiene there and was taking her clinical courses on the campus of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College.
Robbyn DeSpain, director of Strategic Communications at VSU, said Monday, “Our hearts are broken over the senseless loss of Brianna Long. We are keeping her family and friends in our thoughts and prayers.”
He said the VSU Counseling Center has 24/7 resources for students needing grief assistance, including those in the VSU Dental Hygiene program on the Wiregrass Georgia Technical College campus.
VSU faculty and staff in need of grief-support services are encouraged to contact KEPRO, the university’s Employee Assistance Program, at 844-243-4440 to connect with a local professional. The code to access this service is USGCares. FamilyWorks, an on-campus clinic operated by the Marriage and Family Therapy program, is also available at 229-219-1281.
The GBI said the case is active and ongoing. Investigators are asking anyone with information on this case to call the GBI Thomasville Office at 229-225-4090, or Remerton Police Department at 229-247-2320. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.