What was a stain upon Birmingham on Sunday night ended up showing the best of Alabama — and humanity — on Wednesday.
As previously reported on by Yellowhammer News, ABC 33/40’s Stephen Quinn was reporting live in downtown Birmingham Sunday night, where looting, vandalism and arson was occurring.
The scene quickly turned violent, with a rioter stealing Quinn’s wallet before multiple men viciously assaulted him and at least one other member of the media.
Fortunately, Quinn escaped without serious injuries and only his wallet as a casualty of the scary incident.
Took a couple blows to my head and my wallet is gone but I’m okay. Thank you to @BhamPolice for your help. @abc3340 @spann #GeorgeFloyd pic.twitter.com/955myya7hG
— Stephen Quinn (@StephenQ3340) June 1, 2020
However, three days later, Quinn posted an update on Facebook.
“This is Michael Tripp,” Quinn said, captioning a picture of him smiling and holding his wallet next to Tripp. “An example of the good people all around us.”
“Michael found my wallet in his Birmingham neighborhood and reached out to the station and returned it to me on Tuesday,” Quinn explained.
“He told me he had his wallet stolen three weeks ago too. Thank you, Michael. You’re further proof there is always more that unites than divides us,” the reporter concluded.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn