Five days following Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed's press conference in which he boasted of the city's 28% drop in violent crime, the city was rocked by at least six shootings that left three dead.
The shootings, one of which was an officer-related death where the suspect was killed while fleeing police, left a total of three dead and more injured.
RELATED: ALEA investigating after trooper chase ends in shooting death of motorcyclist
The particularly violent weekend came less than a week after Reed gave public remarks, boasting of the city's 28% decline in violent crime compared to last year.
Reed's comments also drew criticism for other reasons.
1819 News noted that in his list of acknowledgments for the efforts to reduce crime, Reed failed to mention the Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit (MACS), which began operating in June of last year to address the escalating crime in the capital city.
Lieutenant Gov. Will Ainsworth reacted to Reed's lack of acknowledgement, claiming the capital city's mayor "was taking credit for a lot of work that other people did."
On Friday, the day before the day of the high shootings, Reed hit Ainsworth back, boasting of himself as uninterested in who gets credit for the city's accomplishments and suggesting the state would be better off if Ainsworth did the same.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email [email protected].
Don't miss out! Subscribe to our newsletter and get our top stories every weekday morning.
