A juvenile male was arrested Friday for his part in a shooting that killed two people and injured 12 others in a crowded downtown nightlife district in Alabama’s capital city this past weekend, police said. Montgomery police announced that the boy has been charged with capital murder and 12 counts of assault. His name wasn't immediately released.
Rival gunmen opened fire on each other late Saturday night, leading to the deaths of a 43-year-old woman and a 17-year-old boy, police said. Investigators determined that multiple people fired weapons in a crowd just after the Tuskegee University-Morehouse College rivalry football game ended blocks away.
The shooting began when someone targeted one of the 14 victims, prompting multiple people to pull their own weapons and start firing back, police said. Seven of the 14 victims were under 20, and the youngest was 16. At least two of the victims were armed. Multiple weapons and shell cases were recovered from the scene, officials said.
The attack prompted a promise of action by Governor Kay Ivey, who said the state will take a greater role in public safety efforts in the capital city. Earlier in the week, Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed, in a response to Ivey, said the city would welcome state assistance but also said lax state gun laws have “taken critical tools away from police officers.”
Alabama in 2023 ended the requirement to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public. Last year, Reed and city officials sought to enact a city ordinance that would require a person carrying a concealed firearm to also carry a photo ID. The effort was abandoned amid concerns about loss of state funding.
“We welcome any assistance the state is willing to provide. But real safety requires more than additional troopers or task forces — it requires the courage to confront the culture of easy access to guns and a lack of responsibility among those who carry them,” Reed said.
Reed said earlier that five police officers were nearby when the shooting occurred, including one officer who was within 50 feet of the shooting.
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