MONTGOMERY, Alabama — Three people were killed at a small grocery store in Alabama’s state capital of Montgomery on Tuesday night, the latest violent attack to follow a series of robberies targeting Latino-owned businesses.
The shooting at the Tienda Los Hermanos grocery store on the city’s south side came hours after the mayor urged City Council members to support a $6 million proposal for a community intervention program to address crime in Montgomery.
“People who work in our communities, trying to earn a living day by day, week by week, should not be sacrificed, and that’s exactly what happened last night,” Mayor Steven Reed said at a news conference Wednesday.
Reed said the city will use all available tools to find who committed the crimes and who “targeted Latino and Hispanic businesses throughout this region.”
Police Maj. Saba Coleman said officers responded to the scene after receiving a report of a shooting shortly before 9 p.m. on Tuesday. Two people died at the scene. A third man was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Montgomery Police Acting Chief John Hall identified the victims as George Elijah Jr., 50, Daniel Lopez, 20, and Romero Lopez, 43. Reed said two of the shooting victims were family members and the third had come to meet with a store clerk “to do a little shopping.”
Hall said police are investigating whether the shooting is connected to other crimes targeting Latino-owned businesses.
Maribel Lopez, who said she owns the store, told WSFA that her brother and nephew were among those killed.
“I can’t think of anything right now,” she told the station, adding that the store has been the victim of robbery and theft at least six times in the past.
“We have to speak up,” Lopez said. “Everybody needs to speak up and let the city know we’re here, we need to take care of each other, and get the city’s attention so they can start working on it.”
Flowers and candles were left outside the grocery store as a tribute Wednesday.
Oronde Mitchell, a city council member who represents the area, said the shooting happened during a robbery at the store. Mitchell noted that the crimes have targeted Hispanic-owned businesses in the area, where customers are more likely to pay with cash than with debit cards or other electronic payments.
Mitchell said the city needs to focus more on building trust with the community and take other steps to address crime in the city.
During the press conference, a representative from a Spanish-language radio station asked city officials about concerns from members of the Latino community that police respond slowly or not at all to calls. Hall said the city is working to improve response times citywide. If a call is being ignored, he said, it will be investigated.
