Authorities arrested and charged an Alabama man with shooting his circuit judge father at home Saturday afternoon, according to reports.
Khalfani Hardwick, 36, allegedly shot and seriously injured his father, Johnny Hardwick, at the older Hardwick’s residence around 1 p.m., Alabama Local News reported. Montgomery County Sheriff’s Deputies searched the area and found Khalfani Hardwick’s car abandoned on a road, and then caught up with him on U.S. Route 231 and arrested him without incident, according to the report.
Hardwick, the presiding judge of Montgomery County’s 15th Judicial Circuit of Alabama and current president of the Alabama Association of Circuit Court Judges, reportedly underwent surgery for the shooting.
Authorities charged Khalfani Hardwick with domestic violence first degree and with certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm, the report noted. If convicted of the domestic violence first-degree charge, he reportedly faces up to life imprisonment.
Khalfani Hardwick pleaded guilty in 2017 to second-degree assault, admitting to shooting a person, Clayton Riley, in the head, according to the report.
Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed said he was “saddened by the news that Judge Johnny Hardwick has been shot” in a statement to Alabama Local News. “He has honorably served our community on the Circuit Court for decades, helping spearhead numerous reforms to make the court system more equitable and fair,” Mayor Reed reportedly said. (RELATED: 2 Police Officers, 1 First Responder Shot, Killed Following Domestic Abuse Incident)
“Most recently, he worked to eliminate bond requirements for more non-violent offenses. Away from the bench he was a champion for the area’s youth, one of the founders of 100 Black Men of Greater Montgomery. We are praying for his recovery,” the mayor reportedly added.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Judge Johnny Hardwick during this difficult time,” Montgomery County Commission Chairman Doug Singleton told Alabama Local News. “The entire Montgomery County Commission wishes him a full recovery.”/
Judge Hardwick, a 1973 alumnus of Alabama State University, led his graduating class during their “Golden Class” (50-year) reunion in 2023 to donate over $250,000 to the university, “the largest single donation by a Golden Class in recent years,” the university said in a statement.