The fallout of the Riverchase Galleria shooting for Hoover and Greater Birmingham's image (Bessemer: shop, safe)

[jero23]

Let's just have an open discussion on what will be the fallout of the Riverchase Galleria shooting. What do you think should happen and how will this impact the future of the image of Hoover and Greater Birmingham in the long run. Since this is pertinent to the Birmingham area, and the area only let's keep it on topic.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by jero23

Let's just have an open discussion on what will be the fallout of the Riverchase Galleria shooting. What do you think should happen and how will this impact the future of the image of Hoover and Greater Birmingham in the long run. Since this is pertinent to the Birmingham area, and the area only let's keep it on topic.

Well, I know where you are trying to go with this, but the bigger issue is that there was a shooting at the Galleria. That means normal, decent people are going to stop shopping there (of course, I don't see why folks shop on black friday anyway). The police aspect of it could happen anywhere.

Honestly, I don't know what else Hoover could do to prevent punks from coming out looking for trouble. There are police crawling all over that place, especially during the holidays. Indoor malls are all dying that slow death I guess.

[jero23]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

Well, I know where you are trying to go with this, but the bigger issue is that there was a shooting at the Galleria. That means normal, decent people are going to stop shopping there (of course, I don't see why folks shop on black friday anyway). The police aspect of it could happen anywhere.

Honestly, I don't know what else Hoover could do to prevent punks from coming out looking for trouble. There are police crawling all over that place, especially during the holidays. Indoor malls are all dying that slow death I guess.

Where I am trying to go with this is how will this affect the public image of the region. How can we mitigate this to help the region to continue to evolve and growing (population-wise and economically)?

[mcalumni01]

I doubt it has any affect on the region. Seeing as it was in the suburban area and not directly inside the core city, it will be a lil' spotlight from outside the region. Remember, this isn't nothing new to this country. It will be talked for awhile and then it will go away. Anybody wanting to do business in this metro won't let this unfortunate situation decide anything for them. I think we just need to let the families of both parties have their peace and anybody not involved directly just take a step back and let these families come together

[RocketDawg]

The shooting certainly won't help things, but it's unfortunately become so commonplace that I don't think it will drastically hurt the area's reputation. If it was an incident that was isolated to Hoover/Birmingham it would have a much larger effect.

[bfmx1]

Yeah I agree, I don't think this will have a strong negative impact.

[MinivanDriver]

I think because Birmingham remains under the microscope for such matters, I hope that ALEA and the Hoover Police Department handle this as transparently and openly as possible.

Lots of people seem to know what happened, but nobody really knows what the evidence truly is. As a result, there has been a great deal of speculation flying around, but I'm more interested in what the facts of the matter are.

At the moment, we do know it was a chaotic situation where actual gun shots were fired prior to the police arriving on the scene. And we know that the deceased died with a gun in his hand. What we don't know is a) Whether the deceased had any involvement in the original incident or was an innocent bystander trying to protect himself and b) How the deceased was confronted by the police, how he reacted, and whether procedure was followed.

I would imagine it was the nightmare scenario for the Hoover police, chiefly because they were dealing with what they thought was an active shooter on the busiest shopping day of the year. If I'm in the shoes of an officer, I'm not sure how I would respond.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by MinivanDriver

I think because Birmingham remains under the microscope for such matters, I hope that ALEA and the Hoover Police Department handle this as transparently and openly as possible.

It doesn't matter. There's no going back now. It's in the spotlight.

If I had to guess, I'd say that this will be an incident that many pro-B'ham City Proper backers will point to, as to why people should move/play/work in Birmingham rather than Hoover. It will shine a light on the lack of unity.

As far as the police, I can't imagine trying to react in that chaotic of a melee. Hoover's police force is well-known for helping keep the city safe and have some great folks working there. They always seemed to treat people fairly from what I saw.

[jero23]

Originally Posted by Mississippi Alabama Line

It doesn't matter. There's no going back now. It's in the spotlight.

If I had to guess, I'd say that this will be an incident that many pro-B'ham City Proper backers will point to, as to why people should move/play/work in Birmingham rather than Hoover. It will shine a light on the lack of unity.

As far as the police, I can't imagine trying to react in that chaotic of a melee. Hoover's police force is well-known for helping keep the city safe and have some great folks working there. They always seemed to treat people fairly from what I saw.

I believe most of the pro-intown Birmingham people are trying more to unify the region rather than further divide it. Unity is the only way the region will resume its steadier and uptick in growth during the 1970s-2000s. Think about how 4 jurisdictions (Birmingham, Jefferson County, Homewood, and Mountain Brook) all collaborated on the multimodal bridge over US 280, and the redux and extension of Liberty Parkway (Birmingham, Vestavia Hills, and Jefferson County). That along with the collaborations are becoming more and more the norm rather than exceptions.

Only old heads and paid disrupters are still trying to divide this region. The majority of Millenials are the exact opposite of this because they realize the image of Birmingham to the outside world.

[Mississippi Alabama Line]

Originally Posted by jero23

I believe the pro-intown Birmingham people are trying more to unify the region rather than further divide it. Unity is the only way the region will resume its steadier and uptick in growth during the 1970s-2000s. Think about how 4 jurisdictions (Birmingham, Jefferson County, Homewood, and Mountain Brook) all collaborated on the multimodal bridge over US 280, and the redux and extension of Liberty Parkway (Birmingham, Vestavia Hills, and Jefferson County). That along with the collaborations are becoming more and more the norm rather than exceptions.

Ha! Are you kidding me? You can't make that assumption based on a capital project that benefits everyone.

Let's start talking about different BHM Metro companies relocating here or there and watch the blood get shed. Job creators is where the real growth is, the rest comes later, and the different cities fight over those.

There are deep mistrust issues between Birmingham, Bessemer and Hoover for sure. Mountain Brook and Vestavia have the best of both worlds - rich bedroom communities that depend on Birmingham - but have their city limits to ensure separation.

But hey, I, like you, am an idealist who wishes to see the best. I've just given up on BHM for the time being as far as any unity goes.