At least four people were killed and dozens injured in a mass shooting Saturday evening in a popular entertainment district in Birmingham, Alabama, according to the Birmingham Police Department.
Around 11 p.m., “multiple shooters fired multiple shots into a crowd” in the Five Points South area, Birmingham Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald reported.
When officers arrived, they found two men and a woman unresponsive from gunshot wounds; all three were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth victim later died at a nearby hospital.
As of early Sunday, no suspects were in custody. The victims were situated on the sidewalk or streets, and investigators are trying to determine whether the shooters approached on foot or drove by in a vehicle.
Additional gunshot victims were identified in the area, and some victims were taken to local hospitals. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital treated 11 of the injured, including one of the deceased, Hannah Echols, as confirmed by a hospital spokesperson. The conditions of the injured have not been disclosed.
Fitzgerald stated, “We have dozens of gunshot victims from this area,” noting that at least four are in life-threatening condition, while others have various injuries.
The exact number of shooters and the motivation behind the violence remain unclear, and police are investigating the possibility of multiple shooting incidents. Several law enforcement agencies are assisting in the investigation. Birmingham police are urging local businesses to share any surveillance footage and encouraging the public to provide relevant information.
“We are committed to uncovering, identifying, and bringing to justice those responsible for this attack on our community,” Fitzgerald emphasized.
Five Points South is a bustling area known for its restaurants, nightclubs, pubs, and live music venues, located near the University of Alabama at Birmingham campus and close to downtown Birmingham.
Fitzgerald noted that mass shootings “are more about culture than criminality,” highlighting a troubling trend of resolving disputes with violence.
This incident adds to the growing toll of at least 403 mass shootings in the United States so far this year, as reported by the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an event where at least four people are shot, excluding the shooter.
