U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville on Sunday condemned the downtown Montgomery shooting that left two dead and a dozen wounded and suggested Alabama must be ready to surge force, up to and including the National Guard, if local leaders can’t get control of the streets.
“I am deeply disturbed by what took place in Alabama’s capital city last night. Crime has become too common in Montgomery, and this cannot continue. It’s past time for city leadership to take responsibility and put an end to this,” Tuberville (R-Auburn) wrote.
“My prayers are with the victims and their families of last night’s horrific shooting.”
A gun battle Saturday erupted in the heart of Montgomery’s nightlife district.
Police say multiple people drew and fired weapons after an initial targeted attack, killing Jeremiah Morris, 17, and Shalanda Williams, 43, and wounding 12 others, five critically.
No arrests have been announced as of Sunday evening. State and federal partners, including ALEA, ATF and the FBI, are assisting — and a $50,000 reward has been posted for tips.
As incumbent U.S. Senator, and the far-and-beyond frontrunner for Governor of Alabama in 2026, Tuberville outlined his posture in September:
“You can have the greatest family, the best education, you could have a great job, but if you don’t have safe neighborhoods and streets and don’t feel safe, you have nothing. You have to have security. You have to feel secure when you go to the drugstore, you go to the grocery store, or your wife goes and go shopping with your kids. You have to have that feeling that everything is safe around you,” Tuberville said.
“Well, folks, it is not. And again, a lot of that goes on in our state of Alabama, and if it takes the National Guard, you betcha.”
Asked about the process he has in mind for determining whether National Guard troops are necessary for Alabama cities, Tuberville made it clear that he would work with municipal governments to strengthen local law enforcement before making such a move.
“…At the end of the day, we have to support our local police if they need help. Now I wouldn’t just do it to say, ‘Hey, we’re sending National Guard.’ If the city police, if the state police need help, sure, they’re going to be backed by the National Guard.”
“It all goes back to one thing. You’d have to visit with the mayor. You’d have to visit with the City Council. You’d visit with law enforcement, the people that leadership and law enforcement if it is needed and crime is out of control. I don’t care if it’s in Birmingham or Auburn or Tuscaloosa or Dothan. It makes no difference,” Tuberville said.
“If we have a problem, we’re going to correct that problem. And if it takes more people — which the next step would be the National Guard — absolutely, we would do the correct thing for the taxpayers of the city that needs help.”
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
