“The tragedy occurred in Five Points South in Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham Police said that they have reports of four people killed and 18 injured as shootings occurred across the city. The police claim that when the police were searching a crowd was attacked by several shooters and two men and a woman were killed.”
Hours later in the hospital, the man who had been shot died from his injuries. Speculations are coming from the authorities that it was not a spate of random killings. The shooting was allegedly aimed at one person. Police Chief Scott Thurmond said that the police believe that there was one intended victim out of the killed ones.
The other casualties were probably comprised of bystanders who caught the bullets. Four of the injured are in critical condition. The police say that in the case of the shooting, the investigation is still active as they follow up on leads with assistance from federal agencies, posting a reward for information, and at times even to the extent of setting up a web portal where one can post evidence.
The incident brought fresh fear into the minds of Birmingham residents about seeing more gun-related violence in the city. The mayor of the city, Randall Woodfin called “Glock switches” a public safety threat: devices that could change a semi-automatic weapon to an automatic killer. He declared, “The city has no authority to ban them,” appealing for state action.
The body count for mass shootings recorded inside the United States this year keeps on rising to 400 and above, and this tragedy in Birmingham will go down in history as another of the numerous tests set in front of the county to connect and put an end to the long, ruthless fight against gun violence. It marks the second mass shooting in the city within two months. This is the third quadruple homicide this year so far.
