FROM CHIEF P.K. JOHNSON
MILLBROOK POLICE DEPARTMENT
On Monday, August 23, 2021, at approximately 5:00 PM, Millbrook police responded to the 4500 block of Lakeshore Drive with regard to a shooting in progress. When officers arrived on scene they discovered two male subjects, who appeared to be suffering from gunshot wounds. The scene was secured and both individuals were evaluated and treated for their injuries by Millbrook fire-medics. One individual, later identified as Raven J. Young, a 28-year-old Millbrook resident, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The second individual, a twenty-one year-old Georgia resident, was transported from the scene by Millbrook fire-medics to a local hospital, where he was listed in critical condition. Officers at the scene were advised that a third person, described as a black male, fled the scene into a wooded area, near the railroad tracks that are east of the location where the shootings occurred.
The Alabama Department of Corrections K-9 Unit was called out to assist in searching for that individual. Officers were able to make contact and have identified that individual. Detectives from the Millbrook Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit responded to the scene to process and collect physical evidence. This case remains an active investigation.
We’re not in a position to release any significant information with regard to this case, as we are in the very preliminary stages at this time. Our investigators have collected a substantial amount of physical evidence at the scene. What we do know is that there was some type of altercation between the individuals involved, which quickly escalated to shots being fired by several persons. We know that there is an additional party that was present at the scene, prior to and during the incident, that is unaccounted for at this time.
That person witnessed this chain of events, as it unfolded. That individual can give our investigators a firsthand account of what actually transpired during this incident, which ultimately led to a young man being fatally shot and another young man critically wounded. We need this individual to come forward and speak with our investigators, so that we can get to the bottom of what happened.
Anytime something like this happens, there is speculation as to what transpired and who is to be held accountable. We’ve already heard rumors of retaliation, both on the street and alluded to on social media. First and foremost, no information developed during our initial investigation into the circumstances surrounding this case has revealed any connections to either individuals known/believed to be involved, as it pertains to any ongoing disputes between individuals locally or otherwise. Our officers have been instructed to extra patrol specific areas and are on a heightened state of alert with regard to any potential acts of retaliatory actions.
