Someone was ‘paid to kill targeted victim’ in mass shooting that killed 4, injured 17, police say

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - Police say four people are dead and 17 are injured after a mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama.

Birmingham Police say four people died after a mass shooting Saturday night in Five Points South. Just after 11 p.m. police received a call of a shooting in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue, WBRC reports.

Officials arrived on the scene to find two men and one woman lying unresponsive on the sidewalk. Police say the victims died at the scene.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald says a fourth victim was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital.

Police have identifed three of the four victims as 21-year-old Anitra Holloman, 27-year-old Tahj Booker and 27-year-old Carlos McCain.

Police say the fourth victim is a male pending identification.

Police say there are a total of 21 gunshot victims, including the four who were killed. The other 17 victims have injuries ranging from critical to non-life-threatening.

A spokesperson with UAB Hospital says they received a total of 12 victims, including one of the deceased victims from the scene. At this time, the hospital says they are currently treating four victims with conditions ranging from good to critical.

Other victims were taken to various hospitals across the city.

“These mass shootings have more to do with culture than they do criminality. Mayor Randall Woodfin said it best this week... we’re seeing far too many arguments being settled by bullets, and I think this speaks exactly to what our mayor just said,” Fitzgerald said.

Police believe multiple suspects arrived at the location in a vehicle. The suspects exited the vehicle and fired multiple shots at a group of people who were on the sidewalk of Magnolia Avenue before getting back in their vehicle and fleeing the scene.

Detectives believe the shooting was not random and stemmed from an isolated incident where multiple victims were caught in the crossfire.

Police Chief Scott Thurmond says he believes someone was paid to kill a targeted victim, and they believe that victim is among those who died.

Police confirmed that the weapons used were fully automatic. More than 100 shell casings were found at the scene.

They are also working to determine who the target of the shooting was.

At this time, authorities say nobody is in custody.

“I will say this: we, all of us as a community, owe it to the victims to do everything we can to take these shooters off our streets,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said.

Woodfin and Thurmond strongly urged the public to come forward with any information that could help lead to an arrest.

If you have any information at all pertaining to the case, you are asked to call 911 or BPD at 205-254-1764. If you wish to remain anonymous, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

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