MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Amid a bustling downtown nightlife scene in Alabama’s capital on Saturday night, rival gunfire left two people dead and 12 others injured, according to police reports.
Victims included a 43-year-old woman and a 17-year-old male, with five of the 14 injured individuals, among them a juvenile, facing critical conditions in the hospital.
As of Sunday afternoon, no arrests had been made. Police urged the public to provide information as they navigated a complex crime scene involving multiple shooters.
Police were still trying to piece together a motive for why the shooting started.
Officers responded to the “mass shooting” at approximately 11:30 p.m., an incident they could hear while on regular patrol in downtown Montgomery, as described by Police Chief James Graboys.
“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.”
According to Graboys, of the 14 victims, seven were under the age of 20, with the youngest being 16. The shooting occurred after one of the victims was targeted, involving at least two armed individuals.
The gunfire prompted multiple people to pull their own weapons and start firing, Graboys said.
Multiple weapons and shell cases were recovered from the scene, Graboys said.
Few other details were available.
The busy weekend in Montgomery featured Alabama State University’s homecoming game, the ongoing Alabama National Fair at Garrett Coliseum, and the Tuskegee University-Morehouse College football match concluding at the nearby Cramton Bowl.
Mayor Steven Reed told reporters there were police units within 50 feet (15 meters) when the shooting broke out and that the shooters “had no regard for human life.”
Investigators were reviewing surveillance video and interviewing witnesses and potential suspects.
“We will do everything we need to gather every bit of evidence to chase down whoever is involved,” Graboys said.
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