Pregnant woman shot dead during argument outside house in west Birmingham

A dispute in a house in west Birmingham resulted in shots being fired, leaving a woman dead.

The shooting occurred around 10:15 p.m. Thursday at a residence in the 700 block of New Hill Court.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said West Precinct officers arrived at the scene and found the victim – 26-year-old Nakita Nicole Walker – unconscious on an outside staircase in front of the home. Birmingham Fire Department pronounced her dead at the scene.

Investigators believe Walker was at a friend’s house when the suspect got into an argument with her. The suspect, according to Fitzgerald, is the boyfriend or acquaintance of the victim’s girlfriend.

“He was here disturbing everyone,” Fitzgerald said. “Somehow he and the victim got into an argument and he shot the victim.”

“He is targeting the victim,” he said.

The suspect fled the scene after the shooting, but Fitzgerald said they knew who he was and were actively searching for him.

Walker’s mother quickly arrived at the scene and fell to the ground, crying over the loss of her only daughter. She told police her daughter was five months pregnant.

“It’s a heartbreaking scene,” Fitzgerald said. “We’ve lost another community member to violence.”

“You never get used to it,” he said. “It’s important that our officers never become desensitized.”

“We’ve had over 70 murders already, but we have to treat each case individually so that the mother there gets the individual attention she deserves,” he said.

“We will do everything in our power to take this person into custody,” Fitzgerald said, “as we have done in so many cases recently.”

Walker was the second murder in Birmingham on Thursday and one of three in the city within 24 hours.

There have been 72 murders in Birmingham so far this year. Seven of these were judged to be justified and therefore not considered a crime.

There were 97 murders across Jefferson County, including 72 in Birmingham.

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