Albany leaders concerned about recent escalation of violence in the city

ALBANY — After a recent outbreak of violence across Albany, community leaders spoke out at the City Commission meeting Wednesday evening, expressing concern about the escalation in shootings.

“We have a problem with guns,” Ward II City Commissioner Jon Howard said. “We need to take a stand. These shootings of the last two days should concern us all because it could happen to any of us. It’s frightening and it’s a problem that needs to be addressed.”

Ward VI City Commissioner Tommie Postell was less optimistic about the city’s ability to curb the escalating violence.

“The real problem is you can’t control drug addicts and alcoholics,” Postell said.

Several high profile and extremely violent attacks have occurred in the city and Dougherty County during the past few weeks, according to reports.

On June 15, a Dougherty County Pecan farmer, Francis Wetherbee was brutally attacked in his Gravel Hill Road home by five individuals who beat him with a baseball bat before shooting him twice. According to family members, Wetherbee is now paralyzed from the waist down.

Wetherbee’s family and friends are offering a $70,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrators, but so far, authorities have no leads.

On Tuesday, Albany experienced its first triple homicide since 2008 (bringing Albany’s death toll for 2017 to 11), as well as three other unrelated shootings across the city all during that night, reports indicate.

Authorities responded to 2314 E. Alberson Drive at 9:05 p.m., where they found three deceased individuals inside the residence, along with two children — a 1-year old boy and a 4-year old girl. The children’s mother was one of the deceased. All three victims were shot and law enforcement continue to search for evidence, but have yet to release any details concerning possible motive or suspects.

“All three individuals were shot, but we will know more after we are able to do an autopsy, which will probably be Friday,” Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler confirmed Wednesday. “They were all pronounced deceased at 10:22 p.m.”

APD is also investigating three other shootings that occurred on Clark Avenue, McArthur Street and Tulsa Lane that same Tuesday night.

Before the City Commission meeting began, Albany Police Chief Michael Persley made a statement. His comments focused on gun owners’ responsibilities and preventing criminals from getting guns, but it did not detail any specific actions that APD would use to stop the violence.

“We do have an issue with gun violence in our community,” Persley said. “It seems that it is acceptable to have a gun and to commit any kind of acts with that. One thing that we do want to stress to everyone is that, even though we do support the 2nd Amendment, we want people who do have guns to be responsible for not only the handling of those weapons, but in the safety of their weapons.

“The next thing we want is those people who are not supposed to be in possession of weapons — whether you are a juvenile, a convicted felon or you just don’t need a weapon at all — we want to make sure that those people don’t get weapons. People who have weapons tend to make some bad decisions and some dreadful outcomes.

“This is all part of what we want to do to make sure the violent crime in Albany is on the decrease,” the chief said. “So, we are going to need community’s help. If you know someone who has weapons and they want to do harm, call us. It’s not being a snitch and it’s not about betraying somebody, it’s about saving lives and that’s a win for everybody in Albany. We are going to continue our efforts, we are going to stay on top of this and any and all help from the community is needed.”