Moody Police Chief Thomas Hunt says Sgt. Stephen Williams has been killed on duty after a shooting at the Super 8 off Moody parkway tonight. Police said two suspects are in custody and another is barricaded inside a motel room. At least a 80-100 police officers were swarming the area around the 2000 block of Moody Parkway.
A man and a woman were later arrested near a Super 8 motel in Moody, Ala., according to FOX 6 in Birmingham.
The circumstances leading up to the shooting weren’t immediately clear.
“I heard like an AK-47,’’Amar Fouda, who was staying at the motel, said. He hid in the bathtub and eventually went to the window when he saw police lights, according to AL.com. “I saw one of the officers, he was down.”’
Chief Thomas Hunt called into CBS 42 television station and identified the slain officer as Williams, a 23-year policing veteran who had been with the Moody police force for three years.
“He was awesome. He was awesome,” said Hunt. “Just a good man. A good person. Funny to be around…He had been a sergeant with us…worked night shift for us. Very thorough in his paperwork, very thorough as a sergeant. He was a good teacher and a good mentor, and a lot of guys looked up to Stephen. He was a very good close friend.”
U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town released a statement: “Moody Police Sergeant Stephen Williams’ end of watch has come much too soon. Our condolences and prayers are with his family, friends, and fellow officers. His loss is a loss for all of Alabama. This serves as yet another heartbreaking and stark reminder of the perils encountered by law enforcement each day.”
According to Hunt, Williams worked as a night shift sergeant for the PD. He said that the investigation was still ongoing, so he couldn’t release many details, including “how and why this happened.”
Hunt said that Williams was so-highly regarded he recently received a Keith Turner officer of the year award from the department.
“I ask everyone for prayer for the Williams family and the Moody Police Department,” the chief said. “As more information becomes available, we will be able to release more at that time.”
The chief said that loud bangs heard by journalists at the scene were from “SWAT teams shooting tear gas into the actual hotel room.” Police were clearing it out to “make sure no other suspects involved,” he said, but there were not.
