Nightclub shootings dangerous trend
Published 8:30 pm Saturday, November 28, 2015
This year there have been several shootings outside of nightclubs and lounges in the city of Selma.
On March 14, Taffine Berry was shot and killed outside a lounge on Marie Foster Street. Police believe she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. So far, the case remains unsolved despite an award for information leading to an arrest.
Then a few weeks later, a 30-year-old Selma woman was shot early Easter morning outside a nightclub in the 100 block of Washington Street. Police made an arrest in May on attempted murder charges in the case.
Just a few days after that arrest, two men were arrested for trying to rob nightclub patrons on Race Street at gunpoint. One of those two suspect was found a few blocks away with a gunshot wound to his leg. It was unclear at the time if the bullet came from the would-be robbers or someone else in the club.
Fast forward to July when a 18-year-old was shot in the groin in a parking lot across from a nightclub on Franklin Street.
Finally, we have the latest incident this past week where shots were fired near a nightclub at the intersection of Alabama Avenue and Washington Street. Police responded to the scene and exchanged gunfire with a suspect who was shooting into a crowd. One man was shot in the leg. So far, no arrests have been made in the case, which is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigations.
These incidents are a dangerous trend. Berry’s family have said they can’t have peace without justice for her. One death is too many, but Selma is fortunate more people have not died in these incidents. The city needs to take a tough look at what can be done to make these establishments safe or shut them down. Starting in 2016, security cameras will be required at nightclubs. That’s a start, but it will be important for the city to go out and inspect that these cameras have been installed and are working. This kind of senseless violence has to stop.