More than a week of steady bloodshed on the streets of Birmingham continued Sunday night when three people were shot on the city’s east side, one of them fatally.
The killing came less than 24 hours after a mass shooting in Five Points South that left four people dead, and 17 others wounded.
Police officials on Sunday’s night scene said they had not ruled out the possibility that the gunfire could be linked to Saturday’s carnage in Southside.
“One of our personnel received intel that this may be related,’’ said Officer Truman Fitzgerald. “So anytime we have a community member willing to step up and give information, we’re going to investigate that the best we can.”
Just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday, the city’s gunfire detection system – Shot Spotter – alerted officers to shots fired in the South East Lake community, specifically the 700 block of 81st Place South.
Shot Spotter registered at least 30 rounds fired, and there were multiple evidence markers placed in the middle of 81st Place South.
Once on the scene, they found a man unresponsive on the sidewalk and a woman unresponsive in a front yard.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service rushed both of the to UAB Hospital, where the man died. His identity has not yet been released.
The woman’s injuries, Fitzgerald said, are life-threatening.
Police then learn another gunshot victim showed up by private vehicle at St. Vincent’s East.
The initial report was that the victim was shot in the same incident but Fitzgerald said they are still working to positively confirm that.
No arrests have been made.
“Witnesses are coming forward. They have been helpful,’’ he said.
“We’re hearing reports the shooter was possibly in a vehicle. However, we’re working to confirm if the shooter fired shots from the vehicle, or exited and then fired shots,’’ Fitzgerald said.
Birmingham police investigate a deadly shooting that happened Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in the 700 block of 81st Place South.(Carol Robinson)
In the past nine days, 11 people have died due to violence in the city.
On Friday, Sept. 13, a Birmingham Housing Authority contract employee was gunned down in broad daylight in the Collegeville public housing community.
Five days later, on Wednesday, Sept. 18, a 26-year-old man was found shot to death in the 1700 block of Laurel Avenue S.W.
Within hours, police were investigating another killing that happened in Brother Bryan Park on Magnolia Avenue, a half block away from where Saturday’s nights mass shooting took place.
On Thursday, Sept. 19, a 35-year-old woman was fatally shot inside a Birmingham bar.
Early Friday, a Bessemer man was shot to death during an argument with another man inside Third Avenue Package Store.
And, on Friday afternoon, a 27-year-old woman who had not been seen or heard from since the previous night was found dead in a Glen Iris apartment.
Then, on Saturday, the drive-by shooting outside Hush lounge – which police believe was a targeted ‘hit’ – happened.
Fitzgerald was asked if any of the shootings appeared to be gang-related.
He said what police typically see in Birmingham is neighborhood-based cliques or groups that “have isolated beefs that have bled out into our streets.”
“That’s why it’s important that anyone that has information on these shooters to give us that information as quickly as you can,’’ he said. “Because, as we’ve seen tonight, no one took last night as a warning of what can happen when you let tempers flare and bullets fly.”
Sunday night’s homicide victim is the city’s 123rd so far this year. Of those, eight have been ruled justifiable and two happened in previous years and died in 2024.
In all of Jefferson County, there have been 155 homicides including the 123 in Birmingham.
Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
