Montgomery mayor fires back at attorney general after mass shooting: ‘I don’t need anybody lecturing me about crime’

At a news conference on the Saturday night shootout in downtown Montgomery that left two people dead and 12 others wounded, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed pushed back on criticism from Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall about the city’s response to violent crime.

Marshall, who is running for U.S. Senate, said Montgomery officials do not admit the capital city is facing what he called a crisis.

“Though the blame lies with those who carelessly pulled the triggers, I continue to be troubled by the city leadership’s stubborn refusal to acknowledge that they have a serious problem,” Marshall said.

Reed, who was asked about Marshall’s statement, said it shows a lack of awareness about efforts the city is making.

“If the attorney general ever wants to talk with me about what we’re doing, I’d be more than happy to sit with him, and I’ll go to him, tell him exactly what we’ve been doing,” Reed said.

“But I don’t need anybody lecturing me about crime.”

Reed said he once had a gun pointed at his face before he was mayor and said he would never forget it.

“And these people last night won’t ever forget what happened to them,” Reed said. “I don’t need that type of sideline commentary from the state’s top law enforcement official.”

Saturday night’s shootout came two weeks after five people were killed in four violent weekend incidents in Montgomery.

The city has had 52 homicides so far this year. That follows 61 homicides in 2024 and 75 in 2023.

Saturday night’s shootout erupted about 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of Commerce and Bibb streets, the heart of Montgomery’s downtown entertainment area.

Jeremiah Morris, 17, and Shalanda Williams, 43, were killed in the gunfire, Montgomery Police Chief James Graboys said.

Graboys said five others have life-threatening gunshot wounds. Seven others who were shot have injuries that are not life-threatening, the chief said.

Seven of the victims are under age 20, with the youngest being 16, Graboys said. He said at least two of the shooting victims had guns.

Graboys said it is believed that one person was targeted in the shooting and that multiple people pulled and fired weapons.

He said the city is working with federal, state, and county law enforcement.

A reporter from the Montgomery Advertiser asked the mayor if downtown Montgomery is unsafe.

“I don’t think that downtown Montgomery is unsafe,” the mayor said.

“Let me be very clear about that. I think we have some reckless and careless people who did something very stupid last night that cost two people their lives and multiple people impacts on their lives.”

Grayboys said police will focus on who caused the tragedy.

“This is an issue of the individuals who pull the triggers,” the chief said. “They pull those triggers, they hurt those people.

“That’s who’s at fault in this, and that’s who we’re going after. And we can’t let, as a community, as a police department, as law enforcement officers, we cannot let anything sway us or distract us from that purpose.”

Thousands of visitors were in Montgomery for two college football games on Saturday.

A mass shooting in downtown Montgomery on Saturday night, Oct. 4, 2025, left two people dead and a dozen others injured. (This is a screengrab from a WSFA report).WSFA

Tuskegee University played Morehouse College at Cramton Bowl, and Alabama State University played its homecoming game at its stadium on campus.

The weekend also featured a Ferris wheel set up temporarily on Commerce Street, about a block from where the shooting happened. The annual Alabama State Fair is under way at Garrett Coliseum.

Reed said the shootout was not connected to any of those events, but the result of actions by people who are willing to kill to resolve their conflicts and do not care who they put in danger.

“When people are that reckless when it comes to human life, that’s a problem,” Reed said. “And that’s a problem that’s going to be a lot deeper than what we’ll talk about at least here today. But it’s something that I think we have to talk about as a community.”

Reed said the city cannot accept violence as the norm.

“Conflict and disagreements are as old as mankind,“ Reed said. ”How we deal with them is the only thing that’s changed.”

He said he remembers when the worst outcome for disagreements might be a fist fight.

“I’m born and raised in Montgomery,” Reed said. “I’ve seen plenty of them. And now we’re in this place where you don’t do that because everybody feels like they have to have a gun. Everybody feels like this is a wild, wild west.”

Soon after the shooting, Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth, who has in the past been critical of Reed’s handling of public safety, said “local leaders must be willing to lead in order to stop the crime and violence,” Ainsworth said.

Morgan Murphy, a former Trump official who is also running for U.S. Senate, told 1819 News that “we need the National Guard in Montgomery to restore long-awaited law and order.”

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, the frontrunner for governor in 2026, has indicated he was open to the idea of federal troops being stationed in Montgomery and Birmingham.

Reed said he was not in favor of any suggestion of using the National Guard to help patrol Montgomery’s streets, as President Trump has done in some cities and Sen. Tommy Tuberville has supported.

“I’m fervently against that 100%,” Reed said. “That’s not the place for our National Guard.”

“The place is with local law enforcement who understand what to do and when to do it and how to do it,” the mayor said.

Reed said city and state officials could consider changes in bail and bond policies to keep dangerous people off the streets.

Reed suggested revisiting the state law that repealed the requirement for a permit to carry a handgun concealed or in a vehicle.

“We’re not going to just sit here and do the same thing over and over and over again,” Reed said. “That’s not fair to the victims, it’s not fair to the families.”

“Dangerous criminals and people who are this reckless with human life don’t deserve to be free,” Reed said. “They don’t deserve to walk our streets.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Montgomery police at 334-625-2831 or Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 334-215-STOP (7867).

Authorities also announced a $50,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to those responsible.

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