4 killed, at least 17 wounded in shooting at Birmingham, Alabama nightlife district

A shooting in a popular nightlife district of Birmingham, Alabama left four dead and at least 17 people wounded on Saturday.

According to the Birmingham Police Department, multiple shooters got out of a vehicle just after 11 p.m. in the Five Points South entertainment district and fired on a group of people who were standing on a sidewalk and in the street. Multiple victims were caught in crossfire, investigators said.

The identities of victims were not immediately released by Sunday.

Officers found two men and a woman on a sidewalk with gunshot wounds — those individuals were pronounced dead at the scene. Another man was pronounced dead at a local hospital, police said.

Other shooting victims sustained injuries ranging from serious to life-threatening, authorities said.

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Detectives believe the shooters initially targeted a specific person — the suspects are said to have returned to their vehicle after opening fire, and fled the scene.

“We believe there was a ‘hit’ — if you will — on that particular person,” said Chief Scott Thurmond. “Someone was willing to pay money to have that person killed.”

Witnesses told Scripps News the scene was chaotic.

“Blood was everywhere,” said Drew Hawkins, a reporter from Gulf States Newsroom, who was visiting town with his family on an unrelated journalistic assignment.

Hawkins said he jumped out of bed when he heard the gunfire outside of his hotel. “It was so loud...like multiple power drills blended together into one, monotonous drone of just unbelievably rapid-fire power.”

He said he could see people running and screaming for help, so he grabbed his gear and took photos and a video of the scene.

Hawkins, who had enjoyed a walk in the same area with his family several hours earlier, said he counted multiple people, who appeared to be victims, laying on the ground.

“I counted at least six or seven people on the ground, and several of them were clearly deceased,” he said.

“I could hear one gentleman who was standing next to me looking at a woman on the ground who was deceased saying, ‘That’s my sister. My sister is dead,’” added Hawkins.

"It's difficult," Police Chief Scott Thurmond said Sunday morning. "Our heart is with the community."

The police department, which is also investigating an unrelated quadruple homicide from July, solicited surveillance video from nearby businesses and tips from the community.

“When the public comes forward and shares information with law enforcement...the men and women work day and night, tirelessly, to get those cases solved and get those individuals off the street,” said Thurmond.

“Gun violence is an epidemic crisis in our country,” said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin. “The city of Birmingham finds itself, unfortunately, at the tip of that spear.”

The White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention's Director Stef Feldman said Sunday, "Americans should not have to live like this. And we can’t let it become normal. This year alone there have been more than 400 mass shootings which have traumatized Americans and torn communities apart. As President Biden often says: Enough is enough."