Two men found shot to death in a downtown Birmingham senior living facility died in a murder-suicide, authorities announced Thursday.
Police say 68-year-old Larry Collins fatally shot 66-year-old Roosevelt Walker and then turned the gun on himself.
The shooting happened Wednesday night, Sept. 4, at Freedom Manor apartments and their bodies were discovered the following morning by a friend.
Walker was a U.S. Air Force veteran and he and Collins had been best friends for more than 30 years.
“My mother, his wife, is having a hard time grasping the reality of what has happened because tragedy struck at her door just seven months ago when my brother was killed,’’ said Marilyn Yelder, Walker’s stepdaughter.
North Precinct officers were dispatched just before 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, to the apartment building 1617 Fifth Ave. North. The facility is operated by the Birmingham Housing Authorities and is for residents ages 62 and older.
Sgt. LaQuitta Wade said officers entered a fourth-floor apartment and found both victims unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced them both dead on the scene.
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said the men died between 9:45 p.m. and 10 p.m. Wednesday.
Both victims lived at Freedom Manor. They were found dead in an apartment of one of the victims.
Wade said a friend with a key to the apartment made the discovery and called 911 immediately.
Two men were found shot to death Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, inside senior living facility Freedom Manor in downtown Birmingham(Carol Robinson)
Yelder’s twin brother and Walker’s stepson – 37-year-old Marlin Dontae Yelder– was found shot to death Feb. 15, in Birmingham’s Inglenook community
A passerby made the discovery about 10:17 a.m. that Thursday in the 4200 block of 48th Avenue North.
Marlin was found face down in a pile of trash in an illegal dumping site in the east Birmingham community.
No arrests have been made.
“At the very least,’’ Yelder said Thursday of her stepfather’s death, “she has answers and closure in this case and while it may take some time, we will hopefully find peace.”
Collins and Walker usually attend Bible study together on Wednesday nights. It was not clear if they attended on the night of the shootings.
“We have remained in touch daily with Mr. Collin’s family to check on their well-being,’’ Yelder said. “Our family places no blame in this situation because we know this wasn’t intentional.”
“Even though we (both families) still have questions we need answered,’’ she said, “we can only trust that Birmingham police have done their due diligence in this case and will keep us informed of anything new information comes up.”
“You never saw one without the other and while it hurts,” Yelder said. “We know they left here doing what they’ve always done and that’s being with each other.”
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