BIRMINGHAM, Ala (WIAT) -- Following the arrest Five Points South Shooting suspect Damien McDaniel, community members share a mix of emotions regarding safety.
Ace Graham is among the many business owners in Five Points South grateful that an arrest has been made in this shooting that took place just feet away from his store front.
"I think that the work of the Birmingham Police Department is something to be very much respected and very well honored that they've worked so hard and tirelessly to bring someone to justice hopefully in this situation," said Graham.
Graham says that though this situation impacted the area, he feels safe, and he hopes others feel the same.
"In any situation, we're not going to let something change how we live our life, we're not going to be pushed into our houses or pushed into some communities. We're going to be out in the open and living our life that way that we want." said Graham. "I would not be anywhere else in Birmingham. I believe in the community here; I believe in the support that leadership at Five Points brings and I'm a fan of diversity, so I only want to be in places where I can get mixed demographics."
But some don't feel that same sense of security.
Arukei Johnson says following the shooting, and even after an arrest was made, she and her friends now go out together whenever they're visiting Five Points South, saying it's uneasy knowing tragedies like this can happen at any given time.
"I definitely would not come here at night, after sundown," said Johnson. "It's kind of like a wakeup call, I guess for everything that there's more going on to it so different faces, same case unfortunately."
Former Alabama State Representative Paul DeMarco says finding out that McDaniel is linked to two other shootings prior to the shooting in Five Points South is concerning.
"You really got to talk about what's going on in the criminal justice system in Alabama," said DeMarco.
DeMarco says knowing that McDaniel isn't the only suspect BPD arrested this week with prior violent history presents a bigger problem.
"We're seeing a failed criminal justice system where we have felons committing violent crimes and then we have a revolving door at the courthouse, and until you address that issue, this is going to continue to be a problem." said DeMarco.
Demarco says the violent crimes that we're seeing in our community can't be solved overnight, but it's important to address the issues head on in hopes of finding a solution.