Mayor Steven Reed addressed the shooting death of 6-year-old Caylee Taylor on Monday, calling it a “heinous tragedy” and pledging that whoever is responsible will face the toughest possible consequences.
Taylor was shot and killed overnight in her home while she slept, according to Montgomery police. Officers responded around 2:20 a.m. to the 400 block of Mulligan Drive and found her with a life-threatening gunshot wound. She died after being taken to a local hospital.
Reed, speaking at a previously scheduled city briefing Monday, described the shooting as someone firing indiscriminately into a home in the middle of the night “to address any type of issue or disagreement they may have had.” He said the loss weighed on him personally.
“As a father, I don’t think anyone should ever lose a child, certainly not one this young and this innocent,” Reed said. He added that a child has been killed in a shooting before during his tenure as mayor, calling that fact “unfortunate” and evidence the city “has to do better.”
The mayor said the Montgomery Police Department is “devoting every resource available” to the investigation and pushed for aggressive prosecution once a suspect is identified.
“I’m going to call on our district attorney, I’m going to call on our judges to make sure … that you don’t give them bond, that you don’t give them a way out,” Reed said, calling for “the toughest sentence, the harshest sentence that can be given…”
Reed urged federal charges be pursued if the shooting is tied to drug or gang activity.
No suspect or motive has been released. Montgomery Police Chief Jim Graboys is scheduled to brief reporters separately Monday afternoon with case-specific updates.
Asked directly whether the shooting stemmed from a dispute, Reed did not confirm details, saying only that “people are using guns too often in our city” and that gunshot victims remain a persistent problem.
Anyone with information is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 215-7867 or the Montgomery Police Department’s witness hotline at 625-2831.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
