After State Rep. Juandalynn Givan flippantly suggested the National Guard could be deployed to Birmingham following a fatal mass shooting over the weekend on top of rising crime across the city, Governor Kay Ivey clarified that she has ‘no plans’ to make such a move.
However, she is prepared to direct a new task force to be formed similar to the Montgomery Metro Area Crime Suppression Unit, a joint effort between local, state and federal law enforcement, which is already showing signs of effectiveness.
Ivey’s spokesperson, Gina Maiola, clarified the Governor’s position on the issue Tuesday evening. She explained that Ivey is willing to work with the city of Birmingham to provide state resources to help find tangible solutions.
The mass shooting that has sparked the latest outcry for military intervention in the city occurred Saturday evening in Birmingham’s Five Points South Entertainment District. After the shooting ended four were left dead and seventeen wounded. Law enforcement suspects that the shooting was a coordinated hit on one of the victims.
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Amid the political fallout from the shooting, State Rep. Juandalynn Givan, who represents areas of Birmingham, drew the ire of Mayor Randall Woodfin after she claimed in an interview this week that the city is “one step away from having the National Guard called in.”
Woodfin, who has been accused of lacking a proper plan of action to address the root cause of the mass shootings, did not appreciate Givan piling on and fired off a Facebook post ridiculing the lawmaker.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests and convictions in the shooting, along with Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama matching it for a total reward of $100,000. This is the largest reward ever offered by Crime Stoppers.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
