MONTGOMERY, Alabama: Rival gunmen shot at each other in a crowded downtown nightlife district in Alabama’s capital city Saturday night, killing two people and injuring 12 others in a chaotic street scene that left authorities trying to find out who started it, police said.
The dead included a 43-year-old woman, identified by police as Shalanda WIlliams, and a 17-year-old identified as Jeremiah Morris. Five of the wounded were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, including a juvenile, Montgomery police said.
No one had been arrested as of Sunday afternoon as police appealed to the public for information and sorted through a complicated crime scene that involved multiple people firing weapons in a crowd just after the Tuskegee University-Morehouse College rivalry football game ended blocks away.
“We’re gonna do whatever we can not only to arrest those responsible, we’re going to do whatever to arrest those connected in any way, who knew what may have happened, who knew what could take place,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed told a Sunday news conference. “We’re not going just to stop with those folks that were pulling the trigger last night.”
The shooters “had no regard for human life,” he said.
Police were reviewing surveillance video, interviewing witnesses and potential suspects and trying to piece together a motive for why the shooting started.
Police were called around 11:30 p.m. to what Montgomery Police Chief James Graboys described as a “mass shooting” that broke out near the Hank Williams Museum, the Rosa Parks Museum and the Alabama Statehouse, within earshot of officers on routine patrol in downtown Montgomery.
The shooting began when someone targeted one of the 14 victims, prompting multiple people to pull their own weapons and start firing back, Graboys said.
“This was two parties involved that were basically shooting at each other in the middle of a crowd,” Graboys said.
The shooters, he said, “did not care about the people around them when they did it.”
Seven of the 14 victims were under 20, and the youngest was 16, Graboys said. At least two of the victims were armed, Graboys said.
Multiple weapons and shell cases were recovered from the scene, Graboys said.
Few other details were available.
It was a particularly busy weekend in Montgomery, with Alabama State University’s homecoming football game that day at Hornet Stadium, the Alabama National Fair ongoing at Garrett Coliseum and the Tuskegee University-Morehouse College game having just ended at nearby Cramton Bowl.
Reed said there were police patrols within 50 feet (15 meters) when the shooting broke out. One officer was so quick to arrive on the scene that he transported a victim to the hospital before an ambulance arrived, Graboys said.
Gunmen kill two, injure 12 in a shootout in a crowd in Alabama capital city’s downtown
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Gunmen kill two, injure 12 in a shootout in a crowd in Alabama capital city’s downtown
- Shootout began when someone targeted one of the 14 victims, prompting multiple people to pull their own weapons and start firing back, say police
- The dead included a 43-year-old woman and a 17-year-old male. Five of the wounded were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, including a juvenile
Nigeria seeks French help to combat insecurity, says Macron
- African country has witnessed violence and mass kidnappings from schools
LAGOS: Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has sought more help from France to fight widespread violence in the north of the country, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Sunday, weeks after the United States threatened to intervene to protect Nigeria’s Christians.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, has witnessed an upsurge in attacks in volatile northern areas in the past month, including mass kidnappings from schools and a church.
US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians. The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
FASTFACTS
• US President Donald Trump has raised the prospect of possible military action in Nigeria, accusing it of mistreating Christians.
• The government says the allegations misrepresent a complex security situation in which armed groups target both faith groups.
Macron said he had a phone call with Tinubu on Sunday, where he conveyed France’s support to Nigeria as it grapples with several security challenges, “particularly the terrorist threat in the North.”
“At his request, we will strengthen our partnership with the authorities and our support for the affected populations. We call on all our partners to step up their engagement,” Macron said in a post on X.
Macron did not say what help would be offered by France, which has withdrawn its troops from West and Central Africa and plans to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance.
Nigeria is grappling with a long-running insurgency in the northeast, armed kidnapping gangs in the northwest and deadly clashes between largely Muslim cattle herders and mostly Christian farmers in the central parts of the country, stretching its security forces.
Washington said last month that it was considering actions such as sanctions and Pentagon engagement on counterterrorism as part of a plan to compel Nigeria to better protect its Christian communities.
The Nigerian government has said it welcomes help to fight insecurity as long as its sovereignty is respected. France has previously supported efforts to curtail the actions of armed groups, the US has shared intelligence and sold arms, including fighter jets, and Britain has trained Nigerian troops.
