Coroner identifies 16-year-old killed in fatal shooting in parking lot of Fairfield mall

I’M GUY RAWLINGS AND I’M BRITTANY DECKER. IT’S BEEN A TRADITION FOR PEOPLE IN ONE PART OF JEFFERSON COUNTY FOR MORE THAN A HALF CENTURY NOW, BUT IT’S ALSO BEEN THE SITE OF NUMEROUS SHOOTINGS. WVTM 13 CHIP SCARBOROUGH LIVE AT WESTERN HILLS MALL IN FAIRFIELD TONIGHT, WHERE THERE ARE RENEWED CONCERNS ABOUT SAFETY AFTER THE SHOOTING DEATH OF A 16 YEAR OLD CHIP. GUY IN BRITTANY. THAT DEADLY SHOOTING HERE FRIDAY AFTERNOON. IT’S JUST THE LATEST IN A SERIES OF SHOOTINGS AT WESTERN HILLS MALL OVER THE YEARS. AND FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED IN FAIRFIELD FOR MOST OF THEIR LIVES, THEY SAY THEY HATE TO SEE THEM ALL PAINTED IN SUCH A NEGATIVE LIGHT. OUR KIDS NEED TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE EXPERIENCES THAT THE KIDS IN HOOVER GET TO HAVE. RAYMOND DYSART IS A PROUD NATIVE OF FAIRFIELD, ALABAMA. HE SAYS HE GREW UP GOING TO WESTERN HILLS MALL, FEELING SAFE AND LONGS FOR THOSE DAYS AGAIN. AFTER ALL, THE MALL IS PRACTICALLY IN HIS BACKYARD. I DON’T WANT TO FIGHT WITH 5:00 TRAFFIC JUST TO BUY A SHIRT FOR FATHER’S DAY. YOU KNOW, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO GO TO MY NEIGHBORHOOD MALL AND BE ABLE TO BUY A NICE SHIRT. DYSART WORKS RIGHT NEXT TO THE MALL AND SAW THE AFTERMATH OF FRIDAY’S SHOOTING. HE SAYS HE CAN’T HELP BUT THINK A STRONGER SECURITY PRESENCE COULD HAVE HELPED PREVENT IT. SO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE DON’T FEEL SO COMFORTABLE WITH SHOOTING A YOUNG MAN IN BROAD DAYLIGHT ON A FRIDAY. THAT’S WHAT BROKE OUR HEART, MAN. WESTERN HILLS MALL JUST WRAPPED UP A RENOVATION PROJECT EARLIER THIS YEAR AIMED AT ATTRACTING NEW TENANTS AND MAKING THE MALL FEEL MORE LIKE IT USED TO. THE MALL IS DECLINING WITH THE TRUST THAT PEOPLE HAVE AND TREATING IT AS ONE OF OUR HOME BUSINESSES. SO WE JUST NEED THE BUSINESS FAITH TO COME BACK AND THAT’LL BUILD A COMMUNITY UP WHEN PEOPLE WILL FEEL SAFE WITH SPENDING THEIR HARD EARNED MONEY. THE CITY OF FAIRFIELD ALSO HAS BEEN WORKING TO HELP ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES TO THE MALL. IN ADDITION, HELPING TO FILL THE NEIGHBORING SPACE VACATED BY WALMART IN EARLY 2016. THE MAYOR SAYS ONE POSSIBILITY IS TURNING IT INTO A MIXED USE DEVELOPMENT, WITH BOTH RETAIL SPACE AND STORAGE UNITS THAT HELP UPLIFT THE COMMUNITY. I THINK THAT’LL TRICKLE DOWN TO THE OLDER GENERATIONS. PEOPLE JUST NEED TO SEE PEOPLE BEING PEOPLE AGAIN. I DID WALK INTO WESTERN HILLS MALL THIS AFTERNOON TO SEE IF MALL MANAGEMENT WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SECURITY AND SAFETY. I WAS TOLD NOT RIGHT NOW, BUT I DID SEE A FAIRFIELD POLICE OFFICER HERE ON SITE AND PATROLLING THE MAL