Officials in Montgomery, Alabama, said Hispanic-owned businesses are being “hounded” by criminals this week after a shooting at a grocery store left three people dead and was linked to a string of targeted crimes.
“To the Latino and Hispanic community … we hear you, we hear you, and we cannot stand for this to happen,” Mayor Steven Reed said at a press conference Wednesday. “We cannot stand for people to be hunted because they think they’re an easy target or prey. It’s easy to be the hunter. It’s not easy to be the hunted, and right now they are the hunted.”
Local residents say they are on edge following the deadly shooting at the grocery store and other crimes.
Police did not respond to requests for specific examples of other crimes targeting Hispanic businesses, but Montgomery’s NBC News affiliate WFSA reported that the ice cream store had been robbed twice in two months, including one on Memorial Day when a gunman robbed a customer and employee of their wallets before firing a shot into the ground.
Last month, a man was shot outside a Mexican restaurant after refusing to give money to a robber, the station reported. The restaurant owner told the station it wasn’t the first violent crime to happen near his restaurant, saying a suspect had previously held his wife at knifepoint and run off with the cash register.
“Some victims have been targeted multiple times, so we remain vigilant in areas where these crimes are occurring,” Acting Police Chief John Hall said in a statement Friday. “We are actively working with our federal partners on these cases. Together, we are working to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.”
Police said officers have increased patrols in Latino neighborhoods to deter potential crime, and authorities said they are also working with the FBI and federal authorities.
Police have not named any suspects or made any arrests in the robbery and triple homicide Tuesday night that left Daniel Lopez, 20, his father, store owner Romero Lopez, 43, and George Elijah Jr., 50, a customer and friend of the Lopez family.
Maribel Lopez, 31, co-owned the grocery store “Tienda Los Hermanos” with her brother.
She said this week marks the fifth time criminals have broken into and stolen from the store since it opened in November 2021.
She said someone broke into the supermarket after hours in May, stole two cash registers and switched off the power.
The deaths of her brother and nephew, and the attacks on Hispanic businesses, have left residents shaken.
“The community is very scared,” Lopez said, “We’ve been robbed so many times and they’ve done nothing to solve the problem. It’s not just us, all Hispanic people have been robbed so many times and no one’s done anything.”
Mayor Reed said he understands their frustration.
“I understand why they feel that way. … They feel like they’re being targeted, and I believe we do too, and I believe we’re narrowing down who is behind it,” he said.
In pursuit of “strict justice”
The mayor said Wednesday that Latino businesses are being targeted because some don’t have access to bank accounts or credit unions, meaning they have more cash hoarded.
He and the police chief noted that while some people may be hesitant to report crimes or unusual activity to police because of their immigration status, authorities are only interested in solving these crimes.
“If they are victims, I classify them as Montgomery citizens. I don’t take anything else into consideration,” Hall said.
He added that investigators are working with federal authorities to determine whether federal charges can be brought under the Hobbs Act, which “prohibits actual or attempted robbery or extortion affecting interstate or foreign commerce,” according to the Department of Justice.
“We’re going to seek the strictest justice we can, but at this point, that strictest justice will be on the federal side,” Hall said.
“They ruined my life.”
For Mitchell “Holt” Elijah, 25, whose father was killed in a grocery store, the violence is personal. For more than a year, Elijah and friends had been working as credit-card processors, setting up machines in Lopez’s store that accepted credit cards.
George Elijah had been at the store to buy carrots for the family’s two Labradors and would have been chatting with the store owner and customers when he was killed, his son said.
“They considered him family,” Holt Elijah said. “I brought a lot of Hispanics into the community and into their families. [who] “They contacted me and told me how sorry they were and how much they were going to miss him,” he said. “It was a real eye-opener.”
He said the violence that killed his father, a gold and silver merchant, was senseless.
“My dad’s biggest dream for me was to respect others. … He wanted me to be respectful, honest and successful,” Elijah said.
“I love you,” Elijah and his father told each other in their final phone conversation, about five hours before the fatal shooting.
George Elijah’s wife, Claudia Cauthen, 39, said she was struggling to come to terms with her husband’s death.
“I’m still in shock that he may never come home again,” she said. “They’ve completely turned my life upside down. They’ve ruined my life. I really hope that one day we can save theirs.”
Maribel Lopez, 31, whose family is from Guatemala, said her brother was a bubbly guy who was always trying to make people smile, while her nephew was more reserved and didn’t cause any trouble for anyone, she said.
She said George Elijah was a regular at the store, loved buying avocados and adored her family.
“They loved their people,” she said. “I want justice for the three of them.”
Her brother dreams of opening more stores, she said.
“They wanted to build some stores and do something for our community. … He loves helping people.”
The store remained open on Friday, but Lopez was unsure whether his family would continue running the supermarket because he fears criminals will strike again.
“It’s so hard when someone takes away our dreams,” she said. “We deserve so much more.”
