At a Sunday evening press conference, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed joined members of local, state and federal law enforcement to address a shooting that injured at least 13 earlier that day.
The shooting occurred at around 1:46 a.m. on Sunday. Law Enforcement responded to an initial call of shots fired, which turned into a response to multiple shooting victims while police were en route. They found one adult female and one juvenile male, both with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. Several others self-reported to the hospital for treatment.
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The shooting comes as Reed and other officials are under the microscope regarding crime in the city.
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At the Sunday press conference, interim Police Chief John Hall said the shooting occurred during an unpermitted party, meaning the large gathering began spilling over onto the streets and other properties. Hall said MPD was aware of the gathering but stated that the evening was "a busy night" with a murder, a robbery, and another shooting occurring shortly before. Law enforcement gathered over 350 spent shell casings from the scene, as opposed to the 600 number initially reported in Reed's statement.
As of this report, law enforcement has not arrested anyone involved nor announced a suspect.
Reed expressed disappointment at the shooting and voiced frustration at the lack of community involvement when shootings like this occur.
"This is something very serious, and we are concerned about those who have been injured; our sympathies go out to them and their families, but we've got to make sure that, in our city, there's a greater appreciation for life, there's a greater appreciation for conflict resolution and there's a greater appreciation for de-escalating situations without pulling a gun," he said. "These events cannot continue to happen. We will not stand for it. We will not be satisfied until we are doing everything at the local, state and federal level to find those who are part of these continued incidents."
"It's not just on law enforcement to do this," Reed continued. "They cannot carry the burden alone. We have to have individual responsibility and accountability for what's happening in our city. Those who know what happened need to come and let us know who was involved and why they were involved. There are anonymous ways to do that, but you cannot expect to be in a safer community if you are part of the problem. We're asking those to be part of the solution who are innocent bystanders, who know where some of these individuals reside, and who know what is leading them to this type of activity."
While acknowledging that the city was "blessed" not to be handling a mass casualty event, Reed also used the event to push for state and federal lawmakers to impose stricter gun laws.
"The sheer amount of men and women who are carrying automatic rifles and using automatic rifles in this city is unacceptable. These rifles are not designed for streets and neighborhoods. We don't have the laws in place to deal with that, and I would hope that our state and federal leaders, those that are engaged, would be open to commonsense gun reform that we're willing to do at the city council level; we're willing to do at the local level. We're willing to put teeth into some of our ordinances that we pass, and we're willing to work with our local, state delegation to do just that."
Automatic weapons are currently illegal to possess under federal law unless a person obtains a license and pays fees to the ATF.
To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email craig.monger@1819news.com.
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