Montgomery, ala. (Wiat) – The governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey, speaks after a mass shoot in Montgomery this weekend.
The shooting occurred late Saturday evening when armed men shot themselves in a district crowded from the city center, according to the Montgomery police. Two people were killed, Shalanda Williams, 43, and Jeremiah Morris, 17, and 12 other people were injured accordingly.
On Sunday afternoon, no one was arrested as part of the shooting. Seven of the victims are under 20 years old.
On Monday, Governor Ivey published a statement condemning the shooting and said that “all the options remain on the table” for having created a safer Montgomery.
“We – The state – have before and continue to take measures to target crime in Montgomery, which has varied from the deployment of our Mac unit to adopt new laws. Unfortunately, you cannot repair stupid. It is clear that to have a safe Montgomery, it will take more than these stages,” said the IVEY statement.
Ivey continued by declaring that she still feels “the need for the state to intervene more in Montgomery and play an even greater role in the realization of public security efforts in our capital”.
Read the Full Declaration of Governor Ivey below:
The Alabamians lost their lives in the hands of the thugs in downtown Montgomery this weekend. First and foremost, we pray for those close to these lives that are taken from us, as well as for the injured innocent, including some who are still fighting for their lives.
With the officers of the Montgomery police department at a short distance, shots were exchanged on a city center crowded from Montgomery on Saturday evening. This should simply not happen in our capital or anywhere in our state. Everything involved must be held responsible and prosecuted to the maximum, and I will do everything in my power to make sure that this happens.
We – The State – We have before and continue to take measures to target crime in Montgomery, which came to deploy our MACS unity to adopt new laws. Unfortunately, you cannot repair stupid. It is clear that to have a safe Montgomery, it will take more than these steps.
During the last day, I had continuous discussions on what can be done more. This discussion continues and a resolution will not occur overnight, but we will take some additional immediate measures.
Entering safe communities is the number one priority for the government at all levels – local, state and federal. And unfortunately, I always feel the need to intervene more in Montgomery and to play an even greater role in the realization of public security efforts in our capital.
That said, we are starting to take additional measures from the level of the state to dissuade crime in Montgomery. To start, in addition to our active Mac unit, I asked my secretary Alea Hal Taylor to extend the patrol area for our Capitol soldiers to include other key areas in the city center. I plan to ask the Legislative Assembly to support additional resources to allow our presence of application of the law of the State to be more effective in downtown Montgomery. We will also continue to discuss how we can work better with Montgomery City and the county’s police to ensure zero tolerance for crime in Montgomery.
I also ask my administrator ABC Curtis Stewart to examine our laws, expectations and requirements concerning the entities authorized to sell alcohol – in particular those of very populated and strongly traveled areas, as well as for special events, where alcohol sales and consumption take place after 5:00 p.m. in the city of Montgomery.
Let me be clear: all the available status assets are discussed and all the options remain on the table. Montgomery is a special place full of history, great potential and a strong community of people. There is too much at stake here, and as a long-standing resident of Montgomery myself, I cannot stay next to it and allow this to continue.
