A former high school football star was killed by a stray bullet in a crowded Georgia bar where she worked after a shooting broke out outside at closing time.
Brianna Long, 21, was struck by gunfire as frightened customers sought shelter outside the Pier Bar in Valdosta at 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
The young dental student and former cheerleader was taken to the city’s South Georgia Medical Center, where she later died as police began searching for the shooter.
Brianna’s aunt, Morgan Long, 29, said she felt more like a sister to her niece, who stayed at her home regularly while she attended Valdosta State University.
“She was like my person, she was like my other half,” she added. “She was charismatic, funny, everything.” She was just so beautiful.
“There wasn’t a person she couldn’t love, encourage or be friends with.”
“She was charismatic, funny, everything,” Brianna’s aunt said. “She was just so beautiful”
21-year-old Georgia student Brianna Long was the innocent victim when a shooting broke out outside the bar where she worked
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, “multiple vehicles were shot” outside the Pier Bar in Valdosta’s Remerton section.
Brianna was a star player at Paulding County High School outside of Atlanta, where she was selected from over 5,000 other participants as the regional winner of the Positive Athlete Georgia competition.
“We didn’t have a good time with Brianna,” said her uncle Kevin Long. “She always made everyone smile.”
“She was a cheerleader, a football star at Paulding County High School.” “She was also a lifeguard,” he added.
“She cared so much about everyone and would do anything for anyone.”
Brianna, who wanted to be a pediatric dentist, is survived by two brothers, her parents and all four grandparents.
Her funeral is scheduled for Saturday and her former high school has planned a celebration of her life for Sunday.
“This seems impossible to write and is incredibly devastating, like a horrible nightmare that we would all like to wake up from,” a Pier Bar manager wrote on his Instagram page.
“There’s really nothing right about the situation.”
“If you had known Bri, you would have loved her. Her kindness and love radiated to all who had the opportunity to meet her, know her and love her.”
The talented young student wanted to become a pediatric dentist and was months away from graduating from Valdosta State University
Brianna (right), pictured here with a friend, cared deeply for everyone and would do anything for anyone, according to her uncle Kevin Long
“We didn’t have a good time with Brianna,” said her uncle Kevin Long. “She always made everyone smile.”
Her funeral is scheduled for Saturday and her former high school has planned a celebration of her life for Sunday.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the parking lot in front of the bar was full of people and “multiple vehicles were shot” as the shooting escalated.
“Brianna and other employees closed the bar after it closed to patrons around 2 a.m.,” a spokesperson said.
“Around 2:30 a.m. there was a shooting outside the bar and Long was hit as she was finishing work with another colleague.
“The initial investigation indicates that the shooting resulted from some type of altercation outside the pier.”
“Many visitors were outside during the shooting and several vehicles were shot at.”
There were no arrests in the case. Customers recounted the horrific ordeal as gunfire erupted outside the venue.
“Out of the blue, the gunfire started out of nowhere, just boom boom boom boom boom,” bar patron Eboni Tomblin said.
“I felt like I was going to be hit by a bullet at any moment.”
Tributes to Brianna were left outside the bar where she was killed Sunday morning
The 21-year-old leaves behind two brothers, her parents and all four grandparents
Brianna was a star player at Paulding County High School outside of Atlanta, where she was selected from over 5,000 other participants as the regional winner of the Positive Athlete Georgia competition
Long is pictured on the roof of a car as she attends her school’s homecoming event.
“You put a lot of teenagers and a lot of people together in a small space and assume that if all these people, many of them, are immature, childish and under the influence, things won’t go away.”
But according to crimegrade.org, the city ranks in the top 25 percent of crime rates in the U.S., with the Remerton neighborhood among the most dangerous.
“I personally feel that in the years I have lived in Valdosta I have heard too much about what happens in this strip and that most of the violence in Remerton comes from this strip,” Tomblin told WTXL
“I feel like this is not a safe place if you want to go clubbing and just have fun.”