In the summer of 2022, the life of 18-year-old Anna Jones was tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence in Carrollton, Georgia. A recent graduate of Mount Zion High School, Anna was an honors student, a cheerleader, and a beloved member of her community with dreams of becoming a nurse. She was eagerly anticipating the start of her freshman year at the University of West Georgia.
On the night of July 30, 2022, Anna was sitting in a parked car with friends in a parking deck near Adamson Square. Earlier that evening, a man named Richard Sigman, a 47-year-old instructor at the University of West Georgia, had been involved in a verbal altercation with another man at a local pizza restaurant. After allegedly threatening to shoot the man, security at the establishment, noticing he was armed, asked him to leave. Sigman then walked to the nearby parking deck and began firing into the vehicle where Anna and her friends were sitting.
Anna was struck by the gunfire, and her friends rushed her to Tanner Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. The investigation quickly led police to Richard Sigman, who was arrested and subsequently fired by the University of West Georgia. He was charged with murder, three counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. Investigators do not believe that Anna was the intended target or that she and Sigman knew each other.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, the Carrollton community mourned the loss of a bright and promising young woman. Richard Sigman was later convicted of Anna's murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. In response to her daughter's death, Anna's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Sigman and the restaurant where the initial altercation took place, alleging that they were negligent in their handling of the intoxicated and armed professor. Anna's family is also working to establish 'Anna's Law' to promote gun violence prevention awareness.
