Shootings kill 7, wound 10 in Birmingham; Police hunt for suspects

Three people were fatally shot Saturday evening in their vehicle in Birmingham. Authorities said it was one of two fatal shootings that day. Screen capture courtesy of Birmingham Police Department/Facebook Video

July 14 (UPI) — Authorities in Birmingham on Sunday night were hunting for suspects in two fatal shootings that killed a combined seven people and wounded 10 others on Saturday.

Both shootings occurred within a span of less than six hours on Saturday in the Alabama city, with no suspects in police custody as of late Sunday.

The first was reported to police at about 5:20 p.m.

Officers were dispatched to car accident in the 17000 block of Indian Summer Drive, arriving to find a vehicle shot up with three victims inside: A mother, her boyfriend and the mother’s son, who is believed to be no older than 5 years of age. They were all pronounced dead the scene.

Police said the victims were targeted and were shot at from another vehicle that then fled.

Shortly after 11 p.m., officers were again dispatched to a shooting at a night club in the 3400 block of 24th Street North.

At the night club, multiple gunshot victims were located. A man was pronounced deceased outside on the sidewalk while two women were pronounced dead inside the night club. A fourth victim, a male, died at one of the hospitals where 10 people later arrived with injuries from the shooting.

Authorities said at least one suspect opened fire into the night club from the street.

Birmingham police chief Scott Thurmond told reporters during a press conference that all of his detectives have been assigned to these two cases with the focus on bringing justice to the victims.

“I want you to know: We’ll be coming for you with full force. With every piece of law enforcement that we have, we’ll be coming for you,” he said to those behind the shootings.

To the members of the community, he said they were doing everything they can to bring justice to the victims’ families and to restore peace and safety to their communities.

“We will not stop until that is achieved,” he said.

The authorities and officials are calling on members of the public with information about either shooting to come forward, with Mayor Randall Woodfin stating that they know someone knows something about them or saw it.

“Come forward,” he said. “Give credible information so we can take these shooters off our streets and continue to protect our community.”

Thurmond said he wanted to make sure it was clear that this spate of violence was not random. Both shootings though not connected were targeted, he said, adding that that should make it easier for information to be handed over to the police.

“We know 100% there are people who know who’s responsible and know what happened and we need that information so we can bring justice to these families and restore safety to our community and to our city,” he said.

When asked by reporters if they knew the motive behind either of the shootings, Thurmond said his only interest at the moment was finding those responsible.

“Let’s just focus on solving these cases and getting some justice for these families,” he said.

According to The Gun Violence Archive, which tallies gun violence across the United States, there have been nearly 9,120 homicides this year and nearly 17,500 people wounded from firearms.

There have also been more than 290 mass shootings, which the nonpartisan organization characterizes as a shooting with four or more victims.

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