Selma community mourns bystanders’ death, asks how to curb teen gun violence

The deadly shootout in the Selma Walmart parking lot on Jan. 31 has rocked the Selma community as many are asking for answers to the city’s nagging crime problem, especially among teen boys.

The shootout among suspects ages 16 to 20 led to the death of an innocent bystander, Marcus Martin, 40, who was sitting in his truck in the Walmart parking lot, a victim of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, police say.

Martin happened to be at Walmart around 9 p.m. when a group of males took a fight that started inside Walmart outside into the parking lot, where they shot multiple rounds at each other but instead hit multiple cars, including Martin’s truck with him inside.

Two suspects, Terry James Jackson Jr., 16, and Jonathan Latrell Webster, 17, have been arrested and charged with capital murder and discharging into an occupied vehicle. As of press time, police were asking for help apprehending two other suspects, Tashun Roderick Benard Hunter, 19, and Willie James Hunter, 20, both of Selma. Selma police say they are armed and dangerous. More arrests could come.

District Attorney Robert Turner Jr. reports Dallas County’s violent crime rate, which includes murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery and assault, stands at 65.6, which is nearly three times the national average of 22.7.

For Selma, crime escalated among teen boys in 2024 to the point city leaders and law enforcement officials came together at Selma High in August for a community stakeholder meeting to talk about how to curb teen violence. The meeting was prompted by the death of a 16-year-old Selma High sophomore who was shot in the head and died several days later. Turner told the Selma Sun in August the teen’s death was perpetrated by the same group of teens who shot another student in April. The spring shooting led to a weekend of retaliation shootings among teens and prompted Selma High to go virtual for several days to prevent violence from carrying onto campus. After that, Selma City Schools hired school resource officers with help from a grant with the Alabama Department of Education.

In November, Selma police were called to Ward 7 where they found 70 to 80 shell casings littering the ground from a drive-by shooting at a vehicle and a home, and the department identified a juvenile as the suspect.

Turner has released several statements in the last six months with recommendations for curbing teen violence, including a push for a curfew and holding guardians responsible for the crimes teens commit. After the Walmart shooting, he pushed for gun ownership restrictions and putting more responsibilities on gunowners, such as requiring licenses, liability insurance and a universal background check.

Turner said the office is working to hold the shooters accountable.

“We understand that this event has caused fear and concern throughout our community. Let us be clear—our office is committed to holding those responsible accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Turner said in a statement. “Acts of violence like this have no place in our society, and we will not rest until justice is achieved for the victims and their loved ones.”

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Turner added it is up to the community to help establish peace in the neighborhoods by coming forward with information.

“We also call on the community to stand together in the face of this tragedy,” he said. “Now is the time for unity, resilience, and collective action to create a safer environment for all. We encourage anyone with information related to this case to come forward and assist law enforcement in their efforts.”

The U.S. Attorney General’s Office in recent years has increased its efforts to curb crime in Selma by adding an office at the federal courthouse. They also got the federal government to provide Selma with a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, or NIBIN, machine, that captures and compares ballistic evidence to help solve and prevent violent crimes that involve firearms. 

Selma is the smallest city in the country to have a NIBIN machine. The AG’s office also instituted an app for reporting crime called Report It that connects info given anonymously to law enforcement agencies similar to CrimeStoppers.

The City of Selma also installed surveillance cameras across the city in the fall.

Mayor James Perkins Jr. said what happened to Selma resident Marcus Martin is “not acceptable” and the city needs to do more in public safety. The city is collaborating with many public safety agencies, and they are “aggressively dealing with” the case. But he added the crime issues are not unique to Selma.

“I talk to mayors all over the country and it is a problem all over this nation,” he said. “But we have to deal with the space that is ours.”

Ministers in the city are also speaking out, including Gospel Tabernacle Pastor John Grayson who said on social media that the community needs healing.

“While there is enough blame to go around, we all must admit that we can do better,” he said. “This community belongs to us, the people. Let’s help our neighbors, especially the families who have lost their loved ones. The greatest tool we have is prayer. Prayer is a powerful tool for recovery and offering comfort and strength to each other.”