BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin issued an urgent plea to the public three days after Saturday’s mass shooting in the Five Points South entertainment district.
“You are as responsible if you’re sitting on the information that leads to the capture and arrest,” Woodfin said. “Do your part. We’re prepared to do ours. We will continue to be aggressive in this open investigation, and we only want to find the killers right now.”
Birmingham police have not announced any arrests, and the FBI and Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama combined are offering up to $100,000 in reward money for information leading to an arrest.
CBS 42 News attended the mayor’s news conference Tuesday morning to ask Woodfin about the measures being taken right now to address public safety. Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond met with the leadership team from Montgomery’s Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit on Tuesday, and there are plans to launch a similar program in Birmingham.
Four candles placed in front of a makeshift memorial where Saturday night’s deadly shooting took place still burn in memory of the four victims: 21-year-old Anitra Holloman, of Bessemer, and Birmingham residents 27-year-old Tahj Booker, 27-year-old Carlos McCain and 26-year-old Roderick Patterson.
Seventeen others were injured. Some Birmingham-area residents said Tuesday afternoon they no longer feel safe at night.
“I’ll probably stay closer to home after dark," said Pernell Johnson, a Center Point resident. "I don’t feel safe at night coming out in the city."
“It certainly would give me pause," Lauri Song said. "I’d have to have a reason, and I’d have to think it through where will I park and those types of things."
Birmingham resident Elenor Conn commented if she still feels safe coming down to the Five Points South area after dark.
“We would probably would still do it because I think it was an isolated incident. It was targeted,” Conn said.
Birmingham City Councilor Crystal Smitherman, who represents District 6, did not mince words during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
“I am really sick of it," Smitherman said. "I’m sick of feeling unsafe in my own city. I’m sick of it.”
Woodfin said his number one priority is finding those responsible for the mass shooting:
“It is to use every available resource to find the shooter/shooters, capture, arrest and get them off our streets and actually convict them," Woodfin said. "They have to be held accountable.”
Woodfin said the city also plans to beef up its police presence in entertainment districts as soon as this weekend and hire part-time officers. He also wants to see a state ban on Glock switches, which police said may have played a role in the deadly shooting.
State Rep. Allen Treadaway (R-Morris) co-sponsored a pre-filed bill to ban Glock switches at the state level. There is already federal ban in place, but Treadaway believes there’s a larger issue at play.
“It’s staffing levels," Treadaway said. "They’ve dropped way below the staffing levels that are needed to go after these criminals, and that is what we need, and we need it now.”
The city does not share the information on their numbers, but Woodfin acknowledged it needs more officers. That’s why the city is working with the Personnel Board of Jefferson County to make part-time hires.
Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call the FBI’s toll-free tip line at 1-800-CALL FBI. Tips can also be submitted at tips.fbi.gov. The agency is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the individual(s) involved in the mass shooting.
Crime Stoppers is also offering $50,000 in reward money. Its number is 205-254-7777.