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\u2019s capital city.<\/p>\n
The gunfire erupted shortly after 11:30 p.m. Saturday near Bibb Street and Commerce Street. <\/p>\n
A total of 12 people were injured. Two people were killed – 17-year-old Jeremiah Morris and 43-year-old Shalonda Williams.<\/p>\n
Two juveniles are among those wounded. One has life-threatening injuries, police said, and the other suffered non-life-threatening injuries. <\/p>\n
In all, five victims remain in life-threatening condition, and seven sustained non-life-threatening injuries.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The police chief started his remarks at the press conference with this: \u201cI\u2019m collecting my thoughts right now because of how angry I am,\u201d Graboys said. \u201cMy feelings of my anger and my heart are out those for those families.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mayor Steven Reed said despite the mass shooting, he believes the city is safe.<\/p>\n
![\"Montgomery](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/O4SPDWMUMNE6FK6W4IQCCHZLWI.png\"\/)
A mass shooting in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, Saturday, October 4, 2025 left two people dead and a dozen others injured during a weekend of celebration in the city. Montgomery Police Chief James Graboys and Mayor Steven Reed addresses the public during a press conference, Sunday, October 5, 2025. (Montgomery Police Department)Montgomery Police Department<\/p>\n
\u201cWe aren\u2019t going to let one or two bad apples spoil the bunch,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to find the ones that are rotten and we\u2019re going to get them the hell out of here.\u201d <\/p>\n
Authorities also announced a $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to those responsible. <\/p>\n
Montgomery has had 52 homicides this year. The city recorded 61 homicides in 2024 and 75 in 2023.<\/p>\n
Graboys said police were called around 11:30 p.m. The officers, he said, could hear the shooting.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis 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,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen that exchange erupted, multiple people in the crowd pulled their own weapons and started discharging,\u201d Graboys said. \u201cNow, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shooters, he said, \u201cdid not care about the people around them when they did it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chief said automatic gunfire was used. Police recovered multiple shell casings and weapons from the scene. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe weapons all had magazine capacities,\u201d he said. \u201cSome had very high capacities.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Graboys said investigators were interviewing potential suspects, although no one has yet been charged.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will do everything we need to gather every bit of evidence to chase down whoever is involved,\u201d Graboys said.<\/p>\n
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Police tape hangs from a pole after a mass shooting in Montgomery on Oct. 4, 2025.Mike Cason<\/p>\n
\u201cMy personal opinion is this was very much preventable because the individuals who pulled the trigger are responsible for this,\u201d the chief said. \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chief said the department is bringing every resource in, including the FBI, ATF, ALEA and the Montgomery County Sheriff\u2019s Office. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are laser-focused,\u201d Grayboys said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to let anything distract us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shooting happened after the end of the Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic that brought a crowd to the city\u2019s Cramton Bowl stadium. The city opened a new downtown Ferris wheel this weekend, coinciding with the game.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201chad no regard for human life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where the shooting happened was not a sanctioned gathering and not related to activities taking place in the city, Reed said. <\/p>\n
\u201cLast night\u2019s incident was unfortunate but it was avoidable,\u201d Reed said. \u201cThis is not who we are. This is not who we have been.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we have people who are willing to draw down in a crowded area, that\u2019s reckless and dangerous enough,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cWhen you have people who are willing to do that with police officers in plain sight within a short distances, I\u2019m not sure that those people can be reacclimated to our society. I\u2019m not sure they can be productive citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you are that determined to try to take someone\u2019s life at the expense of others,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure those people can be allowed back into our society. The risk is too great.\u201d <\/p>\n
Police said detectives are actively pursuing leads and reviewing evidence, including witness statements and surveillance footage.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are urging anyone with information related to this incident to come forward,\u201d said police spokesman Lt. Tina McGriff said. \u201cEven the smallest detail could be critical to helping investigators identify those responsible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Video shared by WSFA on social media showed the aftermath of the chaotic scene.<\/p>\n
Violent crime has been a concern in Montgomery.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese events underscore, once again, that our capital city is in crisis,\u201d Attorney General Steve Marshall posted<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cThough the blame lies with those who carelessly pulled the triggers, I continue to be troubled by the city leadership\u2019s stubborn refusal to acknowledge that they have a serious problem,\u201d Marshall, a candidate for U.S. Senate, continued. <\/p>\n Marshall said while he believes local law enforcement is \u201cdoing the best they can,\u201d he said it is time to revisit \u201cthe conversation about the state\u2019s authority over its capital.\u201d <\/p>\n Reed responded to Marshall\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know that anyone could look at our record objectively and say there\u2019s a refusal to acknowledge crime as an issue,\u201d he said referring to programs and money put forth to fight crime.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t need anybody lecturing me about crime,\u201d Reed said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf what happened here only happened here, I might be concerned,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cAlthough I\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s our worst nightmare probably,\u201d Reed said. \u201cNo one wants to have the term mass shooting affiliated with their community.\u201d<\/p>\n Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth also responded to the shooting on social media. <\/p>\n \u201cLocal leaders must be willing to lead in order to stop the crime and violence,\u201d Ainsworth said.<\/p>\n In July, Ainsworth in criticized Reed for \u201ctaking credit for a lot of work that other people did<\/a>\u201d to reduce crime in the city. Ainsworth said a crime-fighting effort in Montgomery called the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit<\/a> deserved much of the credit for any drop in violence.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure why (Ainsworth) brought me up in his talk but I\u2019m not worried about credit because I focus on results,\u201d Reed posted in response. <\/p>\n In her State of the State address<\/a> in February, Gov. Kay Ivey said she would expand the MACS program.<\/p>\n MACS is made up of law enforcement officers from ALEA, the Alabama Attorney General\u2019s Office, the Montgomery Police Department, the Montgomery Sheriff\u2019s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.<\/p>\n In August, U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the frontrunner for Alabama governor in 2026, was asked if he were governor would he deploy Alabama\u2019s National Guard to Birmingham and Montgomery<\/a> to combat crime like President Donald Trump has done in Washington D.C.<\/p>\n The senator responded saying, \u201cyou betcha.\u201d<\/p>\n Reed said in response that the city needed \u201ccontinued investment in jobs, education, mental health, and public safety resources \u2014 not troops on our streets.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cMontgomery is not a battlefield,\u201d Reed said. \u201cIt is a city of families, faith, and future. The people of this community deserve solutions rooted in partnership, not political soundbites.\u201d<\/p>\n In late September, five people died in homicides during a single weekend<\/a> in Montgomery.<\/p>\n \u201cLives have been cut short. Families are grieving. And our community has been scarred by acts that should never have happened,\u201d Reed said on Sept. 22. <\/p>\n \u201cEvery life lost to violence is one too many. We can\u2019t just get used to this. We can\u2019t shrug it off and move on like it\u2019s normal. It\u2019s not normal. And it\u2019s not acceptable in Montgomery.\u201d <\/p>\n Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery police at 334-625-2831 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).<\/p>\n If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A mass shooting in downtown Montgomery on Saturday night left two people – including a teen – dead…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":280321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[50,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-280320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"category-us","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-united-states","11":"tag-unitedstates","12":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115323698610150138","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}