Former Carver linebacker dies after shooting on Farr Road
A former linebacker for the Carver High School Tigers is dead after he was shot late Friday in the back while sitting in a car on Farr Road, the Muscogee County Coroner’s Office said Saturday.
Richard Vaughn Cummings Jr. was pronounced dead at 11:57 p.m. of a gunshot wound to the chest in the emergency room at Midtown Medical Center, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. His body will be sent to the crime lab in Decatur for an autopsy.
Police Lt. Greg Touchberry said officers were called at 11 p.m. to 909 Farr Road to check on a person shot. At the scene, police found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound.
Bryan said the teen was sitting in the front passenger seat of a car when a shot was fired by a back seat passenger through the seat. The bullet struck the victim in the back and lodged in his chest, the coroner said.
In February, Cummings was one of 12 players from the school to sign National Letters of Intent to play college football. Cummings signed to attend Waldorf University in Forest City, Iowa.
Cummings’ death marks the 16th homicide in Columbus in 2017 and the 14th investigated by Columbus police. It comes just five days after an unidentified male was found dead in a burning car on Harbison Drive at Head Street. The man died of two gunshot wounds, one to the head and another to his hip.
The Farr Road shooting remains under investigation by the Homicide Unit of the Columbus Police Department. Anyone with information on the Cummings shooting should contact Cpl. Stuart Carter at 706-225-4319 or email scarter@columbusga.org.
Ben Wright: 706-571-8576, @bfwright87
This story was originally published July 15, 2017 at 7:53 AM with the headline "Former Carver linebacker dies after shooting on Farr Road."