A mass shooting outside a popular Alabama bar left four people dead and more than a dozen injured, with police saying it may have been a murder-for-hire “assassination” as the manhunt for the shooter intensifies.
Authorities believe the shooting late Saturday at a popular hookah bar in Birmingham's busy Five Points South entertainment district was a targeted attack after multiple gunmen were seen jumping from a car, firing shots and running away.
“We believe there was an 'assault,' so to speak, on that individual,” Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said.
Three of the victims, Anitra Holloman, 21, Taj Booker, 27, and Carlos McCain, 27, were found lying on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead at the scene.
The fourth victim, whose name police are not releasing pending identification, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
It was not immediately clear who the apparent targeted victim was.
By the early hours of Sunday morning, numerous victims began being rushed to various hospitals, after which police identified 17 people with gunshot wounds, some of which were life-threatening.
Meanwhile, police said about 100 shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Investigators are still trying to determine the weapons used, but some of the shootings appear to have been “fully automatic,” Thurmond said.
Authorities are also trying to determine whether someone fired back, leading to a shootout.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the main focus now is tracking down the suspect.
“Our number one priority is finding these shooters and getting them off our streets,” Woodfin said the day after the shooting.
The mayor, who is scheduled to hold a press conference on Monday to provide an update on the incident, expressed frustration over what he said was an epidemic of gun violence following the recent bloodshed.
“The year 2024 will see gun violence reach epidemic levels and become a crisis for our nation, and unfortunately, the city of Birmingham is at the tip of that spear,” he said.
With post wire
