At Least 2 Dead, 12 Injured in Ala. Mass Shooting: 'This Was Very Much Preventable'

By Carol Robinson

Source al.com

A mass shooting in downtown Montgomery on Saturday night left two people—including a teen—dead and a dozen others injured during what should have been a weekend of celebration in Alabama’s capital city.

The gunfire erupted shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday near Bibb Street and Commerce Street.

A total of 12 people were injured. Two people were killed - 17-year-old Jeremiah Morris and 43-year-old Shalonda Williams.

Two juveniles are among those wounded. One has life-threatening injuries, police said, and the other suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

In all, five victims remain in life-threatening condition, and seven sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Seven of the victims are under the age of 20 and the youngest victim is 16, said Montgomery Police Chief Jim Graboys in a Sunday press conference.

The police chief started his remarks at the press conference with this: “I’m collecting my thoughts right now because of how angry I am,” Graboys said. “My feelings of my anger and my heart are out those for those families.”

Mayor Steven Reed said despite the mass shooting, he believes the city is safe.

“We aren’t going to let one or two bad apples spoil the bunch,” the mayor said. “We’re going to find the ones that are rotten and we’re going to get them the hell out of here.”

Authorities also announced a $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to those responsible.

Montgomery has had 52 homicides this year. The city recorded 61 homicides in 2024 and 75 in 2023.

Graboys said police were called around 11:30 p.m. The officers, he said, could hear the shooting.

“This started as the result of an individual, one of these 14 (injured or killed), who we believe was targeted, in which basically an exchange of gunfire erupted,” he said.

“When that exchange erupted, multiple people in the crowd pulled their own weapons and started discharging,” Graboys said. “Now, as you can imagine, that can be a very chaotic situation and every weapon has to be accounted for and every piece of evidence has to be processed.”

The shooters, he said, “did not care about the people around them when they did it.”

The chief said automatic gunfire was used. Police recovered multiple shell casings and weapons from the scene.

“The weapons all had magazine capacities,” he said. “Some had very high capacities.”

At least two of the victims were among those armed, he said, but could not yet say how many of the wounded were innocent bystanders.

Graboys said investigators were interviewing potential suspects, although no one has yet been charged.

“We will do everything we need to gather every bit of evidence to chase down whoever is involved,” Graboys said.

“My personal opinion is this was very much preventable because the individuals who pulled the trigger are responsible for this,” the chief said. “They carried those weapons into this crowd and at any time they could have walked away from this or walked away from whatever was happening but they did not.”

The chief said the department is bringing every resource in, including the FBI, ATF, ALEA and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

“We are laser-focused,” Grayboys said. “We’re not going to let anything distract us.”

The shooting happened after the end of the Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic that brought a crowd to the city’s Cramton Bowl stadium. The city opened a new downtown Ferris wheel this weekend, coinciding with the game.

The Alabama National Fair was also being held at the fairgrounds by Garrett Coliseum this weekend. The Alabama State University homecoming game against Bethune-Cookman University was also held Saturday at ASU Stadium.

Reed said police had planned for the crowds expected in the city, and said there were police units within 50 feet on both sides when the shooting broke out, but that the shooters “had no regard for human life.”

Where the shooting happened was not a sanctioned gathering and not related to activities taking place in the city, Reed said.

“Last night’s incident was unfortunate but it was avoidable,” Reed said. “This is not who we are. This is not who we have been.”

“When we have people who are willing to draw down in a crowded area, that’s reckless and dangerous enough,” the mayor said. “When you have people who are willing to do that with police officers in plain sight within a short distances, I’m not sure that those people can be reacclimated to our society. I’m not sure they can be productive citizens.”

“If you are that determined to try to take someone’s life at the expense of others,” he said. “I’m not sure those people can be allowed back into our society. The risk is too great.”

Police said detectives are actively pursuing leads and reviewing evidence, including witness statements and surveillance footage.

By early Sunday morning, there was little police presence at the scene. Drops of blood were left on the sidewalk and crime scene tape hung from poles.

“We are urging anyone with information related to this incident to come forward,” said police spokesman Lt. Tina McGriff said. “Even the smallest detail could be critical to helping investigators identify those responsible.”

Video shared by WSFA on social media showed the aftermath of the chaotic scene.

Violent crime has been a concern in Montgomery.

“These events underscore, once again, that our capital city is in crisis,” Attorney General Steve Marshall posted.

“Though the blame lies with those who carelessly pulled the triggers, I continue to be troubled by the city leadership’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge that they have a serious problem,” Marshall, a candidate for U.S. Senate, continued.

Marshall said while he believes local law enforcement is “doing the best they can,” he said it is time to revisit “the conversation about the state’s authority over its capital.”

Reed responded to Marshall’s comments.

“I don’t know that anyone could look at our record objectively and say there’s a refusal to acknowledge crime as an issue,” he said referring to programs and money put forth to fight crime.

“I don’t need anybody lecturing me about crime,” Reed said.

“If what happened here only happened here, I might be concerned,” the mayor said. “Although I’m concerned about why it happened, I know enough and I talk to enough mayors around the state and around the country to know that we all deal with it.”

“It’s our worst nightmare probably,” Reed said. “No one wants to have the term mass shooting affiliated with their community.”

Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth also responded to the shooting on social media.

“Local leaders must be willing to lead in order to stop the crime and violence,” Ainsworth said.

In July, Ainsworth in criticized Reed for “taking credit for a lot of work that other people did” to reduce crime in the city. Ainsworth said a crime-fighting effort in Montgomery called the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit deserved much of the credit for any drop in violence.

“I’m not sure why (Ainsworth) brought me up in his talk but I’m not worried about credit because I focus on results,” Reed posted in response.

In her State of the State address in February, Gov. Kay Ivey said she would expand the MACS program.

MACS is made up of law enforcement officers from ALEA, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the Montgomery Police Department, the Montgomery Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

In August, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the frontrunner for Alabama governor in 2026, was asked if he were governor would he deploy Alabama’s National Guard to Birmingham and Montgomery to combat crime like President Donald Trump has done in Washington D.C.

The senator responded saying, “you betcha.”

Reed said in response that the city needed “continued investment in jobs, education, mental health, and public safety resources — not troops on our streets.”

During a press conference in June, Reed also said during the first half of 2025 homicides, violent crimes, non-violent crimes and non-fatal shootings had all decreased, according to the Alabama Reflector.

“Montgomery is not a battlefield,” Reed said. “It is a city of families, faith, and future. The people of this community deserve solutions rooted in partnership, not political soundbites.”

In late September, five people died in homicides during a single weekend in Montgomery.

“Lives have been cut short. Families are grieving. And our community has been scarred by acts that should never have happened,” Reed said on Sept. 22.

“Every life lost to violence is one too many. We can’t just get used to this. We can’t shrug it off and move on like it’s normal. It’s not normal. And it’s not acceptable in Montgomery.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery police at 334-625-2831 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).

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