(REMERTON, Ga.) — A 21-year-old former high school soccer star in Georgia was struck and killed by a stray bullet as she was wrapping up her shift working at a bar over the weekend. Authorities said they are still searching for the shooter.
Brianna Long and other employees were closing The Pier bar in Remerton at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday when there was a shooting outside the bar. The bar had closed to customers at 2 a.m.
Long was taken to South Georgia Medical Center, where she later died.
Police said an early investigation suggests that there was an altercation outside The Pier that led to the shooting, according to the GBI.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating the death.
Long was selected from among 5,000 students as the Regional Winner for Positive Athlete Georgia, according to Paulding County High School.
Many customers were still outside the bar during the shooting and multiple vehicles were shot, according to the GBI. A GBI medical examiner will perform an autopsy.
The bar, where Long worked as a bartender, released a statement on Instagram, saying, “As most of you know we lost the beautiful soul of Brianna Long tragically and suddenly early Sunday Morning. Writing this seems impossible and is incredibly devastating, like a terrible nightmare we wish we could all wake up from.”
“It’s hard to find the right words because there is really nothing right about the situation,” the bar added. “If you knew Bri, you loved her. Her kindness and love radiated onto to everyone who had the opportunity to meet her, know her, and love her.”
The investigation remains ongoing and anyone with information on the case is asked to call the GBI Thomasville Office at 229-225-4090 or the Remerton Police Department at 229-247-2320.
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