MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Three people were killed Tuesday evening at a small supermarket in Montgomery, an outburst of violence that follows a series of robberies at Latino-owned businesses in Alabama’s capital.
The shooting at Tienda Los Hermanos, a supermarket on the city’s south side, occurred hours after the city’s mayor urged city council members to support a $6 million proposal for a community intervention program to combat crime in Montgomery. to take.
“People who are doing their work in their communities and trying to make it from day to day, week to week, should not be targeted. And that’s what we had last night,” Mayor Steven Reed said during a news conference Wednesday.
Reed said the city will use all available resources to identify who committed the crime and those who “targeted Latino, Hispanic businesses throughout the community.”
Police Major Saba Coleman said officers responded to a report of gunfire on Tuesday shortly before 9 p.m. Two people died on the spot. A third man was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Acting Montgomery Police Chief John Hall identified the victims as George Elijah Jr., 50, Daniel Lopez, 20, and Romero Lopez, 43. Reed said two of the shooting victims were family members, and the third person was there ‘just to do a little shopping’ and visit with shop staff.
Hall said police are investigating whether the shooting is connected to other crimes targeting Latino-owned businesses.
Maribel Lopez, who said she owns the company, told WSFA that her brother and cousin were among the dead.
“I can’t think about anything right now,” she told the channel. She said the store had been robbed or broken into at least six times in the past.
“We need to speak out,” Lopez said. “Everyone needs to say something, and they need to let the city know that we’re here and we need to take care of each other, and we need to get their attention so they can start working on it.”
Bouquets of flowers and candles stood outside the supermarket in his memory on Wednesday.
Councilor Oronde Mitchell, who represents the area, said the shooting occurred during a robbery at the store. Mitchell noted that the crimes target Latin American-owned businesses in the area where customers are believed to be more likely to pay in cash rather than with debit cards or other electronic transactions.
Mitchell said the city needs to do a better job of building trust with the community and take other steps to address crime in the city.
During the news conference, a representative from a Spanish-language radio station asked city officials about concerns that police are responding slowly or not at all to calls from people in the Latino community. Hall said the city is working to improve response times citywide. He said he will investigate whether calls are being ignored.