By John Brice
Correspondent
This past weekend saw a pair of shocking crimes occur in Lanett that left the local community disturbed and asking for more information amidst the sets of confusing circumstances. Goodsell United Methodist Church on Sixth Avenue was the location for a back to school event intended to support the community.
According to a post announcing the event, “Solid As Ever, LLC would like to announce our 2nd annual Back2School giveaway This year we will be partnering with Goodsell United Methodist Church and Supping In The Word Outreach Ministry on July 28th @ 3:00 PM EST Address: 1007 N 6th Avenue Lanett, Alabama 36863. We will also raffle off 3 pairs of shoes, you must be in attendance to win. If you would like to help or donate, please do not hesitate to inbox or contact one of the people that are tagged”.
What transpired during the family friendly event was unimaginable to those in attendance, disbelief as gunfire broke out as a car passing by on Sixth Avenue conducted a drive-by shooting attack. Several cars were struck by the hail of bullets, however, fortunately there were no injuries reported. News of the terrifying ordeal was shared in a post to a community group on facebook which asked “What’s with all the police and, I think swat, on south 8th Ave.? Swat out there with weapons out at the ready”. One commenter expressed their shocked reaction by remarking “Just saw that. Scared me half to death!” to which another user clarified “Somebody shot up Goodsell church. It was a back to school event. Thats one of the issues.”
The police were at the church right off Cherry drive. There were more questions than answers as another user explained “thats what I’m trying to figure out haha. Rode by there once and nothing was going on. 5 minutes later rode by there again and it looks like a war zone. drive..”
No official statement regarding this crime has been provided by law enforcement at the time of this writing.
Possibly even more unsettling was a brief press release from the Lanett Police Department which stated “On July 28th 2025 Grady W. Aitken 29 years of age, was arrested by agents of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency(ALEA) for the following charges. Allowing Children to Engage in the Production of Pornography. Production of Obscene Materiel. Electronic Solicitation of a Child. No further information is available at this time. Please direct any inquires to ALEA. The arrest occurred in the 800 block no South 8th Street in Lanett,AL”.
Strong emotions were provoked by the announcement which were reflected in comments such as “All y’all worried about is the report not being accurate (in which it should be resolved) but what about the crime?! I pray these babies get the help and support they need. I’m sure this is going to be a long road ahead for them in more ways than one…” as well as “you don’t even know the man like his own family…. I’m his sister an I know good an well my brother would not do anything like that to his kids or anyone’s kids period the charges are bull $#!* he’s being blame for something he didn’t even do”.
