Shooting in Alabama with one dead and two injured possibly linked to mass murder

The bloodshed that has been going on for more than a week on the streets of Birmingham continued Sunday evening when three people were shot, one fatally, on the east side of the city.

The killing came less than 24 hours after a mass shooting in Five Points South that left four people dead and 17 others injured.

Police officials on the scene said Sunday night that they had not ruled out the possibility that the shooting was connected to Saturday's bloodbath in Southside.

“One of our staff received information that this may be related,” said Officer Truman Fitzgerald. “So if a community member is willing to share information, we will investigate it to the best of our ability.”

Shortly before 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, the city's gunshot detection system (Shot Spotter) alerted officers to shots fired in the South East Lake community, specifically in the 700 block of 81st Place South.

Shot Spotter recorded at least 30 shots fired and several evidence markers were placed in the middle of 81st Place South.

When they arrived on the scene, they found an unconscious man on the sidewalk and an unconscious woman in the front yard.

Birmingham Fire Department took both to UAB Hospital, where the man died. His identity has not yet been released.

The woman's injuries are life-threatening, Fitzgerald said.

Then police learned that another gunshot victim had shown up in St. Vincent's East in a private vehicle.

The initial report said the victim was shot in the same incident, but Fitzgerald said they were still working to definitively confirm that.

No arrests were made.

“Witnesses are coming forward. They were helpful,” he said.

“We have heard reports that the shooter may have been in a vehicle. However, we are trying to confirm whether the shooter fired from the vehicle or got out and then fired,” Fitzgerald said.

In the last nine days, eleven people have died in the city as a result of the violence.

On Friday, September 13, a Birmingham Housing Authority contract employee was gunned down in broad daylight in the Collegeville public housing development.

Five days later, on Wednesday, September 18, a 26-year-old man was found shot to death in the 1700 block of Laurel Avenue SW.

Within hours, police were investigating another murder that had occurred at Brother Bryan Park on Magnolia Avenue, half a block from where the mass shooting had occurred Saturday night.

On Thursday, September 19, a 35-year-old woman was shot and killed in a bar in Birmingham.

Early Friday, a Bessemer man was shot and killed during an argument with another man at the 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 there was a drive-by shooting outside the Hush Lounge, which police believe was a targeted attack.

Fitzgerald was asked whether any of the shootings appeared to be related to gang violence.

He said what police in Birmingham typically see are neighborhood cliques or groups “having isolated disputes that have spilled over onto our streets.”

“That's why it's important that anyone who has information about these shooters comes forward to us as soon as possible,” he said. “Because as we saw tonight, no one took last night as a warning of what can happen when you let tempers flare and bullets fly.”

Sunday night's murder victim is the 123rd in the city this year. Eight of those were ruled justified and two occurred in previous years and died in 2024.

There were 155 murders in all of Jefferson County, including 123 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call investigators at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.