Birmingham Police believe someone was ‘paid to kill targeted victim’ in mass shooting that killed 4, injured 17

Authored by wbrc.com and submitted by TexanInBama
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - The Birmingham Police Department says four people are dead after a mass shooting in Five Points South Saturday night.

Just after 11 p.m., Birmingham Police received a call of a shooting in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue.

Officials arrived on scene and saw two men and one woman lying unresponsive on the sidewalk. Police say those three victims died at the scene. Officer Truman Fitzgerald says a fourth victim was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital Saturday night.

Birmingham Police have identified three of the four victims:

BPD says the fourth victim in the shooting is a male pending identification.

A spokesperson with UAB Hospital says they received a total of 12 victims, including one of the deceased victims from the scene. At this time, UAB Hospital says they are currently treating four victims with conditions ranging from good to critical.

Other victims were taken to various hospitals across the city.

Police say there are a total of 21 gunshot victims, including the four who were killed. The other 17 victims have injuries ranging from critical to non-life-threatening.

Police believe multiple suspects arrived at the location in a vehicle. The suspects exited the vehicle and fired multiple shots at a group of people who were on the sidewalk of Magnolia Avenue before getting back in their vehicle and fleeing the scene.

Detectives believe the shooting was not random and stemmed from an isolated incident where multiple victims were caught in the crossfire.

In a new conference Sunday morning, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond says he believes someone was paid to kill the targeted victim, and they believe that victim is among those who died.

Police confirmed the weapons used were fully automatic. More than 100 shell casings were found at the scene, according to Chief Thurmond.

Bullet hole found in one of the buildings in Five Points South after mass shooting (WBRC)

“This is not the first occasion, unfortunately, in 2024 where we’ve seen the style of weapons, the number of bullets on the scene, possibly convergent use, etcetera, for automatic weapons being used in our streets,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

They are also working to determine who the target of the shooting was. Authorities will be reviewing video surveillance.

“I will say this, we, all of us as a community, owe it to the victims to do everything we can to take these shooters killers off our streets,” Mayor Woodfin said.

At this time, authorities say nobody is in custody.

Watch live video from the scene

The Birmingham Police Department held a news conference at 9 a.m. Sunday to provide the latest updates in this case.

Chief Thurmond and Mayor Woodfin strongly urged the public to come forward with any information that could help lead to an arrest.

The Birmingham Police Department set up a QR code for the community to use to submit information and evidence related to this case. Scan the QR code below or click here to access the portal.

Birmingham Police Department's QR code for mass shooting (Birmingham Police Department)

You can also contact the Birmingham Police Homicide Unit at 205-254-1764 or 911. If you wish to remain anonymous, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

We will continue updating this story as there are new developments.

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pomonamike on September 22nd, 2024 at 16:40 UTC »

I’d take what they say with a massive bag of salt. I used to live in Birmingham and remember when they found a dead guy in an apartment. The victim was clearly tortured with an electrical cord and then had his throat cut.

Sheriff comes out and says that it’s definitely Mexican cartels because he saw a video where they behead people. He urged everyone to keep an eye on the Mexicans. The FBI and DEA come out and immediately solve the crime; it had nothing to do with cartels, it was a dispute between illegal dog fighters that went bad in a city with a sky high violent crime rate.

Anything to pin it on “outsiders.”

Al_Jazzera on September 22nd, 2024 at 16:31 UTC »

That’s why you spring for a hit man. El Cheapo over here wanted to get a discount hit and miss man and is now facing racketeering charges, solicitation of murder and multiple murder charges themselves due to being involved with the crime.

Don’t kill people, don’t hire people to kill people, but at bare minimum don’t try to save a buck and hire a hit and miss man.

Moneyshot_ITF on September 22nd, 2024 at 16:19 UTC »

Like an 80s cocaine war assassination?