From Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — Eleven people were shot or injured, two have died, and two are critical after multiple shooting incidents around Birmingham over the weekend, including areas of the city where violent crimes are uncommon, according to Sgt. Truman Fitzgerald of the Birmingham Police Department.
On Monday morning, the Birmingham Police Department issued a statement noting that since Friday, officers have responded to five separate shooting incidents which have resulted in a total of eleven community members shot and/or injured by gunfire.
“These incidents have claimed the lives of at least two community members and have left two others fighting for their lives,” Fitzgerald said.
According to the statement, three shooting incidents were responded to and investigated by South Precinct patrol officers from the same shift.
“This speaks to what all our officers endure daily and the dedication they have to the City of Birmingham,” Fitzgerald said. “Four of the shootings involved situations in which a victim was targeted and one of the shootings stemmed from a dispute inside a local area bar.”
Fitzgerald said police are continuing to see violence used to resolve often simple disputes and conflicts.
“The Birmingham Police Department is committed to working together with the community to change this narrative,” Fitzgerald said.
At approximately 10:08 p.m. on Friday, officers were dispatched to the 900 block of 47th Street North on a report of multiple people shot, Fitzgerald said.
Officers arrived to find a woman injured and three men with gunshot wounds in front of an apartment. Officers rendered aid and Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel transported victims to area hospitals. One man was pronounced dead from his injuries,
Investigators said the victims were attending a birthday party when an unknown suspect approached them on foot and began firing shots at the group. There are no suspects in the shooting, according to Fitzgerald.
The second shooting incident came at 12:50 a.m. on Sunday in Lakeview near the Tin Roof bar where four people were shot in an exchange of gunfire. Two of those victims sustained life-threatening injuries, Fitzgerald said.
“Officers observed an adult female injured by gunfire and an adult male suffering from an apparent gunshot wound,” Fitzgerald said.
While officers were in the parking lot, they learned a separate party who was involved in the incident was leaving in a vehicle.
Fitzgerald said officers followed the vehicle and conducted a traffic stop near the 700 Block of 21st Street South where they discovered that the vehicle’s two occupants were shot.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel arrived at the two separate locations and transported each victim to a local area hospital. The adult male discovered in the parking lot and one of the males discovered after the traffic stop were suffering life-threatening injuries.
“The preliminary investigation has revealed that we believe the two male victims found during the traffic stop were involved in a physical altercation with the male found in the parking lot,” Fitzgerald said. “The physical altercation took place in the parking lot of the original scene (2700 Block of 7th Avenue South) and led to shots being exchanged between the two separate parties.”
Detectives are working to determine which individual is a suspect.
The third shooting incident resulted in the death of a 27-year-old man in the parking garage of a highrise apartment building on Highland Avenue. The victim was identified as Christian Breon Wyatt of Birmingham, Fitzgerald said.
At approximately 5:25 a.m., South Precinct officers were dispatched to a shots fired call at the Cortland Vesta apartment complex, located at 2173 Highland Avenue.
As officers were en route, the call was updated to a person shot call.
“Officers arrived on the scene and entered a parking garage when they observed the victim lying unresponsive suffering from an apparent gunshot wound,” Fitzgerald said. “Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel arrived on the scene and pronounced the victim deceased. The preliminary investigation suggests the victim was involved in a confrontation in the parking garage and an unknown suspect or suspects fired shots at him. The victim was struck by gunfire.”
According to Carol Robinson, the victim was a resident at the highrise apartments and this is the first reported homicide at Cortland Vesta which opened in 2021.
“This is just an example how violence does not discriminate which area it comes to,’’ Fitzgerald told Robinson. “Unfortunately, we have had a violent weekend and we’ve seen violence take place in areas that are not common. It’s an eye-opener.”