Police ask for help after deadly attacks

At least seven people, including a small child, were killed and scores more injured in multiple shootings in Birmingham, Alabama, over the weekend, authorities said.

Police officers responded to a report of a shooting outside a nightclub after 11 p.m., Birmingham Police Department Officer Truman Fitzgerald said during a news conference. When officers arrived at the scene, they noticed several gunshot victims.

Birmingham Fire and Emergency Services personnel pronounced a man, Stevie McGhee, 39, dead on a sidewalk near the nightclub. They later found two women – Markeisha Gettings, 42, and Angela Weatherspoon, 56 – dead inside the nightclub.

Lerandus Anderson, 24, was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital, authorities confirmed. Police said a gunman fired shots into the nightclub from a car.

Investigators said a birthday party was taking place at the nightclub and an altercation later broke out. “At least one suspect drove by in a vehicle and fired shots into the nightclub from the street,” authorities said in a press release.

Ten gunshot victims were transported to UAB Hospital by either firefighters or a private vehicle, the news release said. Police did not immediately respond to questions about the condition of the injured victims or what type of vehicle was used.

Federal officials are also assisting Birmingham police in the investigation.

“Yesterday, many innocent people were shot and killed, and many more were injured,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said at a press conference on Sunday. He gave law enforcement the following instruction: “Hunt down the people who committed these heinous acts.”

Woodfin urged residents with information to call 205 254-7777.

“The shooter or shooters do not deserve a safe haven or refuge with other community members,” Woodfin said. “They do not deserve that with their own family, friends or strangers.”

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3 found dead in a vehicle

The shooting at the birthday party occurred hours after a triple homicide in Birmingham, police said.

According to a press release, officers responded to a report of a car crash at approximately 5:20 p.m. When they arrived at the scene, officers found a “wrecked vehicle in the front yard of a residential home.”

Inside the vehicle were a man, a woman and a young boy who suffered gunshot wounds, authorities said. Birmingham firefighters later arrived and pronounced all three victims dead.

Authorities identified the victims as Eric Ashely Jr., 28, Arkia Berry, 28, and Landon Brooks, 5.

“This is probably the most tragic day in my time with the Birmingham Police Department,” said Scott Thurmond, a 26-year veteran of the force and police chief. All police detectives are being assigned to the two cases, he added.

“Those responsible for these heinous crimes must know that we will deal with them with the utmost force,” he said. “We will pursue you with all the law enforcement resources at our disposal.”

Mass shootings in the US in 2024

There have been at least 296 mass shootings in the United States this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks incidents. Mass shootings are defined as shootings in which at least four people are shot, not including the shooter, regardless of whether they die or not.

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