4 dead and 17 injured in mass shooting in Alabama that Birmingham police say was a “contract”

The police assume that the suspects were targeting a “specific person”, “on the contrary: someone who is willing to pay money for the murder of that person”.

Four people were killed and 17 injured in a mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama. Investigators believe it was a planned attack.

On Saturday, September 21, the Birmingham Police Department (BPD) was called to the scene of the shooting – outside the Hush hookah lounge in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue South – around 11 p.m. after receiving reports of multiple gunshots, police said in a news release.

When officers arrived, they found two adult males and one adult female unconscious on the sidewalk, both with multiple gunshot wounds. Officers pronounced the three individuals dead at the scene, and another victim, an adult male, was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Police said 17 other people were injured by gunfire in the incident. The injuries ranged from “non-life-threatening to life-threatening.”

Three of the victims were identified as Anitra Holloman, 21, of Bessemer, Tahj Booker, 27, of Birmingham and Carlos McCain, 27, of Birmingham.

After a preliminary investigation, the BPD determined there are multiple suspects in the shooting. Police believe it was “an isolated incident in which multiple victims were caught in the crossfire.”

In a press conference on September 22, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said police believe the suspects were targeting one of the dead.

“We believe that this particular person was a murder, if you will, and that there was someone willing to pay money to kill this person,” he said.

Thurmond also said investigators are not sure why the person was targeted, noting that the shooting does not appear to have been the result of altercations or other incidents at businesses in the area.

In response to reporters' questions about connections to the Birmingham massacre in July, in which seven people died – and in which there is still no suspect – Thurmond said police do not believe there is any connection between the Sept. 21 shooting and the massacre.

Investigators believe the suspects may have used a fully automatic weapon, as “approximately over 100 cartridge cases” and “numerous other pieces of evidence” were found at the crime scene. The suspects arrived at the scene in a vehicle and later fled, the police chief added.

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Elsewhere in the press conference, both Thurmond and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin urged citizens to come forward with any information related to the “extremely unfortunate” shooting.

Thurmond also spoke about the evening's impact on everyone, from first responders and hospital staff to the victims caught in the crossfire during their Saturday night outing.

“There were people there who just wanted to have fun, who just wanted to have a nice night out, and then this happened, and now they're hurt,” he said. “They have injuries that they'll have to live with for the rest of their lives, the trauma, the mental anguish that they've had to go through… it's difficult.”

“It is difficult for everyone affected,” he added.

The BPD is working with the Alabama field offices and the FBI on the ongoing investigation. No one is in custody.

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