A teenager was one of two people killed in a shooting in downtown Montgomery on Saturday night, after rival gunmen shot at each other in a crowded nightlife district.
Twelve others were injured in the chaotic scene as Alabama’s capital city hosted several weekend festivities, including sports events and the state’s National Festival.
Shalanda Williams, 43, and Jeremiah Morris, 17 were identified by police as the two people killed in the shooting, while five of the wounded were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, including a child, police said.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting at around 11:30pm, where police believe one of the shooting victims had been targeted before other armed people nearby reacted by pulling their own weapons.
The motive of the shooting is still being investigated, Montgomery Police Chief Jim Graboys said.
“As you can imagine, that could be a very chaotic situation, and every weapon has to be accounted for, and every piece of evidence has to be processed,” Graboys said, describing it as a “mass shooting”.
“This was two parties involved that were basically shooting at each other in the middle of a crowd.”
The shooters, he said according to The Associated Press, “did not care about the people around them when they did it.”
Seven of the 14 casualties were under 20, Graboys said, and the youngest was 16. Two of the victims were armed, and the shooting kicked off after one of the 14 victims was targeted, he explained.
Multiple weapons and shell cases have been recovered from the scene. Police have described them as having a “high capacity”.
As of Sunday afternoon, when city officials spoke at a press conference, no suspects have been brought into custody, NBC News reported. The public has been urged to submit any video evidence to the police department.
“If anybody has any information, you have a responsibility for this community, and to help people in this community to give that information to us,” Graboys said.
Montgomery was hosting a busy weekend, with Alabama State University’s homecoming football game that day at Hornet Stadium, the Alabama National Fair ongoing at Garrett Coliseum and the Tuskegee University-Morehouse College rivalry football game having just ended at nearby Cramton Bowl.
In footage posted on Facebook, showing people around fairground attractions in downtown Montgomery, a large group of people can be seen running as the sounds of gunshots ring out loudly, according to NBC.
Steven Reed, the city’s mayor, told reporters that there were police units within 50 feet (15 metres) when the shooting had broken out, accusing them of having “no regard for human life”.
The mayor has offered $20,000 in reward money for information, in addition to the initial $5,000 which had been offered through the Crime Stoppers line.
