Police offer $50,000 reward for suspects in Alabama shooting
On September 23, 2024, 4:14 PM
Police are offering a $50,000 (ÂŁ37,400) reward for any information that leads to an arrest as the hunt continues for a group of attackers after a deadly shooting in the US city of Birmingham, Alabama.
Four people were killed and 17 others were injured in the shooting on Saturday night.
On Monday morning, officials said they were still searching for a suspect, sifting through many tips received from the public.
Investigators have described the attack as a “hit” that involved multiple gunmen who appeared to target a specific individual.
Here is everything we know about the incident so far.
What happened?
The attack unfolded just after 23:00 local time (05:00 BST) around Magnolia Avenue South, in the Five Points South nightlife district. Local media said it happened as patrons queued to enter a hookah and cigar lounge.
The shooting was characterised by Scott Thurmond, the Birmingham police chief, as “targeted” rather than a random incident.
A number of attackers are alleged to have got out of a vehicle and opened fire on a crowd in a public area before fleeing the scene.
They are alleged to have used “machine gun conversion devices”. Investigators say they have collected about 100 shell casings from the scene, among other evidence.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin blamed “Glock switches” – devices that can be attached to handguns to make them fire automatically – and described these as the “number one public safety issue” in the area.
The hookah lounge, Hush, said it was “heartbroken” that its customers were caught up in the incident – which it stressed had nothing to do with the venue itself.
Who was killed and injured?
A woman and three men who were killed have been named by Birmingham police, who said the victims were local to the area:
Anitra Holloman, 21, from Bessemer
Tahj Booker, 27, from Birmingham
Carlos McCain, 27, from Birmingham
Roderick Lynn Patterson Jr, 26, also from Birmingham
Holloman, Booker and McCain were pronounced dead at the scene by emergency officials. Patterson Jr died after being taken to hospital.
The person targeted in the “hit” was thought to be among those killed, Mr Thurmond said, without specifying who that individual was.
The police chief said investigators had received information to suggest that “someone was willing to pay money to have that person killed”.
Police say they believe the attack was targeted because several of the victims had extensive criminal histories.
Officials say 17 others were injured, revising down an earlier figure of 18. Their wounds varied in severity, some of them being life-threatening. Many were taken to hospital. Five people were still in the hospital on Monday, according to authorities.
A 24-year-old man, Gabriel Eslami, told local news outlet Al.com he had been shot in the buttocks as he queued for the Hush lounge, and was hospitalised himself.
He described seeing “blood everywhere” and the sight of “people’s bodies laid out on the pavement”.
What is known about the attackers?
No arrests have been made.
A search continues for the culprits, and little is known about them.
Police believe, however, that the incident may stem from a murder-for-hire plot.
Other agencies have been helping with the investigation: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI.
What is the bigger picture?
The bloodshed comes amid a spate of gun violence in Birmingham.
A further shooting on Sunday evening in the Alabama city resulted in another person being killed and at least one other injured. Police told local media they were not ruling out a connection with the previous night’s incident.
There have been more than 400 mass shootings across the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are injured or killed.
The incident in Birmingham is the second mass shooting to place in the city in a two-month period, and the third quadruple homicide of 2024.
In July, another nightclub shooting left four people dead and 10 injured, while in February for men were gunned down outside a public library.
