9 weekend shootings prompt chief to address Montgomery violence

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Montgomery’s police chief addressed the public Monday following a string of shootings over the weekend.

According to Chief Daryl Albert, officers investigated nine separate incidents, five of which happened within an hour of each other Saturday night. After the press conference, MPD specified these incidents:

• A man was shot in the area of Vaughn Road and Young Farm Road sometime before 3:40 p.m. Saturday. His injury was not life-threatening.
• A juvenile female was found shot in the 600 block of Keystone Street at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Her injury was not life-threatening.
• A woman was also shot in the area of Keystone Street before 9:45 p.m. Saturday. Her injury was not life-threatening. She was found at the hospital..
• A man was found shot in the 1100 block of Avenue L at about 9:50 p.m. Saturday. His injury was not life-threatening. Officers at this scene found another man with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound in the 1000 block of Bragg Street.
• A juvenile female was found critically injured in a shooting around S. Decatur Street and Nicrosi Street at about 10:20 p.m. Saturday.
• A woman was found critically injured in a shooting nearby in the 100 block of S Burbank Drive at about 10:50 p.m. Saturday.
• A man was found shot in the 4900 block of Hatton Avenue around 1:50 a.m. Sunday. His injury was not life-threatening.
• Another man was found shot in the 4900 block of Hatton Avenue around 3:20 a.m. Sunday. His injury was also non-life-threatening.

WSFA 12 News reporter Ashley Bowerman found the scene on Patton Avenue Saturday. Multiple police units and crime scene tape were seen throughout the area.

“It stretched resources thin, but we had everyone out working, everyone involved in gathering the information we need,” Albert said of the weekend crime.

The chief said these incidents are rarely random.

“Again, when I talk about assailants, the victims know the assailant,” Albert added. “It’s not just random crime, it’s folks that have some type of interaction with the folks that they’re involved with.”

Montgomery has had 36 homicides so far in 2022, 26 of which have resulted in arrests. Albert added that they have solid leads in 8 of the city’s 10 remaining unsolved homicides.

Despite recent events, the chief said overall crime in the capital city is down. The latest crime statistics from the department indicate the overall crime rate is down 17.9%.

“The majority of the folks committing crimes in the city of Montgomery is a very small amount of folks that we’ve seen before, folks who have criminal records, folks who are trying to make and take control of the city, and we will not have it, and we will not allow it.”

Albert said conflict resolution could aid in avoiding some of the crimes.

“Sometimes it’s just time, separation, getting yourself out of a situation and calming down,” Albert said. “You know, that’s conflict resolution, you know. Of course, when something’s not right, and you want to talk about it at a later date, get some time and separation...when assailants and victims know each other, there’s no reason that you can’t regroup, hit the reset, and then re-address it.”

Albert said the department is working diligently to reduce homicides, citing deployment packages and overtime for officers across the city.

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