Montgomery shooting leaves 13 injured, officials frustrated

A large party in Montgomery turned into the scene of a mass shooting, as several people exchanged more than 360 gunshots, leaving nine people shot and 13 injured.

The shooting happened Sunday morning, following a party of more than 1,000 people. Montgomery police said the party was illegal because it spread outside private property lines and into public spaces without a permit.

Nine people were shot and three others injured after being hit by fleeing cars.

It's unclear what sparked the violence, but social media posts indicated a simple argument between partygoers escalated into a fight and then gunfire. Videos of the incident show a chaotic scene, as hundreds of people ran for cover, ducking under parked vehicles and erratically fleeing the scene in cars. The gunfights in the videos are breathtaking, with seemingly automatic weapons (or weapons modified to fire automatically) firing back and forth.

At a late afternoon news conference, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and interim Police Chief John Hall spoke candidly about the shooting and the ongoing problem of gun violence in the city.

“I'm not proud to be here today to talk about another gun violence problem in our city,” Reed said. “We need to ensure that in our city there is a greater appreciation of life, a greater appreciation of conflict resolution, a greater appreciation of de-escalating situations without pulling a gun. These events cannot continue to occur. We will not tolerate it.

Hall said the city is working with the ATF and FBI to track down the shooters and the weapons used in the shooting.

“(The FBI and ATF) helped us from the beginning in this case,” Hall said.
Hall said police responded to a report of shots fired at 1:55 a.m. Sunday, just seven minutes after the initial call reporting shots fired at the party location off Coliseum Boulevard.

The shooting is the latest incident in Montgomery that has sparked interest from lawmakers across the state looking to score political points over the gun violence plaguing the city. In the meantime, Hall and Reed, along with other city leaders, are working on concrete solutions to end the violence and save lives.

Both Hall and Reed encouraged anyone with information about the shooting to come forward, and Reed said it will take the entire community to stop the ongoing violence.

“What happened overnight, with multiple people shot and hundreds of rounds of ammunition found, it's disheartening, it's disappointing, but it's also frustrating,” Reed said. “We need the community to come forward if they know what happened here. You can't hope to live in a safer community if you're part of the problem.