Saturday evening a 18 year old man was shot on the 1700 block of Montgomery Highway in Hoover.

The Hoover Police Department believes the shooting happened near the Wendy’s and the victim went into the nearby Office Depot looking for help.

He was transported to UAB hospital by ambulance in critical condition.

Residents in the area we spoke with were shocked to hear a shooting had happened in an area they believed to be safe.

Kimberly Hewitt said, “It was scary and it’s just another thing to think about when you’re out and about… when you go into a place or come out of a place you can’t be too careful.”

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It’s an incident that is uncharacteristic of the area.

Data from the Hoover Police Department shows there were only 4 attempted murders in the last 2 years and 4 murders in the last two years.

The Jefferson County coroner tracks a 10 year average from 2012-2022 of 2.2 people shot and killed in Hoover each year, however not all of Hoover is in Jefferson County.

Hoover Police Department provided us with the following statement on holiday safety:

The Hoover Police Department continues to provide many additional officers and resources for security and traffic around retail locations during the Christmas shopping season, and we have had no major incidents this year related to holiday shopping. The investigation continues to progress and we are hopeful to have updates to release in the near future.

The condition of the victim has improved to stable from critical.

This is an ongoing investigation. Police are still asking for the public’s help.