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Four people are dead and at least 17 others injured after gunmen fired over 100 shots in a mass shooting in Birmingham late Saturday night that police believe was a “targeted attack.”
The killers remain at large after the shooting in the Five Points South neighborhood, home to the University of Alabama campus and a number of bars and restaurants. Two men and one woman were found unresponsive on the sidewalk and died at the scene, the Birmingham Police Department said.
The fourth victim, an adult man, later died at a local hospital. More than 100 shots were fired from at least one automatic weapon, local outlet AL.com reports. No arrests have been made as of Sunday evening.
Police say the shooters drove to the area, exited their car and fired multiple shots at a group of people before fleeing the scene. Investigators believe the shooters were paid to kill a targeted individual, who is among the four dead, according to Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond.
“Someone was willing to pay money to have that person killed,” Thurmond said.
Dozens of people were injured, including four people with life-threatening wounds. Everyone injured was standing on a sidewalk or in the street, police said. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital received 11 of the victims, including one of the people who died, hospital spokesperson Hannah Echols told CNN.
It’s still unclear what motivated the violence. Anyone who witnessed the shooting should contact the police, Birmingham Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald said. There is a $5,000 reward for any tip that leads to an arrest.
“There is no greater resource than he public,” Fitzgerald said.
“If you were out here, if you saw anything if you heard anything, please reach out.”
Witness Dajon Singleton told local outlet WVTM-13 the scene was “very scary.”
“I walked up when it was just ending, because everybody was screaming, there was people crying,” Singleton said.
“The grieving type screaming, like I know someone is hurt, or that passed away,” he added. “That type. That’s when I instantly knew someone lost a lost one.”
Police have asked local businesses for their security footage. The FBI and ATF are both assisting with the investigation.
“Rest assured, we are going to do everything we possibly can to make sure that we uncover, identify and hunt down who was ever responsible for preying on our people,” Fitzgerald said.
There have been more than 400 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
“These mass shootings have more to do with culture than they do with criminality,” Fitzgerald said. “We are seeing far too many arguments being decided by bullets.”
The Independent has contacted the Birmingham Police Department for further information.
This article was amended on 23 September 2024. It originally said one of the people who had died was called Hannah Echols, but Echols is the hospital spokesperson and not one of the victims of the shooting.
