By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Something went terribly wrong Saturday night at a popular Montgomery bar and grill. Eight people were shot including Montgomery rapper Glenn “Doe B” Thomas who had just performed at the night spot.
The shooting occurred at the Centennial Hill Bar and Grill around 1:00 am.
“The Montgomery Advertiser’s” Matt Okarmus reports that Thomas was transported from the scene to Baptist Medical Center South where he was later pronounced dead. A 21 year old Troy University student, Kimberle Johnson, was pronounced dead at the scene. The other six people who were shot are reported to be in stable condition.
Thomas was seen as an up and coming talent in the rap music genre. Rapper T.I. who signed Glenn “Doe B” Thomas as part of his Hustle Gang record label said in an emotional statement on instagram, “RIP to my lil brother Doe B. We gon miss you my n****. U’ll never be forgotten & U WILL NOT DIE IN VAIN. We Love U champ. Always. Just rest now my n****…. WE GOT IT From here.”
The Blueprint Group, who managed Doe B, told HollywoodLife.com: “Doe B was an amazing young man, in every sense of the word. A truly talented artist, a loving father and a dedicated member of the hip hop community at large, he touched the lives of the many people who had the privilege of knowing him. The Blueprint Group offers our condolences to our Doe B label partners Interscope / Hustle Gang, his management DJ Frank White and Brooklyn Knights, and most of all his family, friends and fans at this very difficult time. We ask that you remember him not by his untimely death, but by his love of life and the music he left behind.”
The Centennial Bar and Grill was formerly the site of the Rose Supper Club until six people were shot there last December and the ABC board revoked the club’s liquor license.
Mayor Strange has ordered the business to be closed. Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said in a statement, “Effective immediately, the city of Montgomery has taken action to close the Centennial Hill Bar and Grill on Highland Avenue, which operated previously as the Rose Supper Club. We do not take this action lightly but believe this decision is compelled by clear evidence that continued operation of this establishment poses an imminent threat to the public’s safety. I believe it is not a matter of ‘if,’ but ‘when’ the next tragic incident occurs at this business. That is unacceptable, and that is why we have ordered the business to be closed effective immediately.”
Owner, Nicole Bankhead, told ‘The Montgomery Advertiser’ that she had no plans to reopen.
The Montgomery Police have charged Jason McWilliams, age 25, with two counts of capital murder. He is being held without bond.
These are the 47th and 48th murders to take place in Alabama’s second largest city this year. The city which was poised to overtake Birmingham as Alabama’s largest city has come under increasing criticism for the level of crime and violence that has occurred there recently.
Kimberle Johnson, 21, was a social work major at Troy University and also a Montgomery native.
Doe B’s death marks the second death of a high profile Alabama musician in recent weeks. Popular country western genre artist Wayne Mills from Boaz was recently gunned down by a bar owner in Tennessee.
