Skip to main content

2 shootings in Birmingham kill 7 people including young child, Alabama police say

Shown is a police car with flashing lights. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File) Shown is a police car with flashing lights. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Share

Content warning: This story contains troubling subject matter; reader discretion is advised.

Four people died in a shooting at a Birmingham nightclub late Saturday, while an earlier shooting outside a home in the city killed three people including a young child, authorities in Alabama said.

Officers responded shortly after 11 p.m. to a report of multiple people shot outside a nightclub, Birmingham Police Department Officer Truman Fitzgerald said in a video posted on social media.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel pronounced one man dead on a sidewalk near the nightclub. Two women were pronounced dead inside the club, Fitzgerald said.

A second man was pronounced dead at University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, where at least nine additional victims were being treated for gunshot wounds, he said

Victims were brought by emergency medical personnel or traveled to the hospital on their own, Fitzgerald said.

Investigators believe at least one suspect fired shots into the nightclub from the street, Fitzgerald said. Federal law enforcement authorities were assisting Birmingham police with the investigation.

Separately, police responded around 5:20 p.m. to a report of a vehicle accident in Birmingham. Police found a car that appeared to have been shot into located in the front yard of a home, Fitzgerald said.

Inside the vehicle were a man, woman and a small boy believed to be as young as five who had suffered gunshot wounds. Birmingham Fire and Rescue pronounced all three dead at the scene, he said.

Investigators believe they were victims of a "targeted shooting” before the suspect fled in a vehicle, Fitzgerald said.

Police asked area residents to provide footage from home surveillance cameras to assist the investigation.

In a statement Sunday morning, Birmingham police said they “remain resolute in our mission to ensure justice for the victims.”

“We are working tirelessly to apprehend those responsible and bring them to justice,” police said. “The Birmingham Police Department is dedicated to protecting our community and restoring a sense of safety and security.”

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Local Spotlight

Video shows B.C. grizzly basking in clawfoot tub

A donated clawfoot bathtub has become the preferred lounging spot for a pair of B.C. grizzly bears, who have been taking turns relaxing and reclining in it – with minimal sibling squabbling – for the past year.