At least 4 dead, 18 injured in Birmingham mass shooting
This story has been updated to add more information.
At least four people are dead and 18 people are injured following a mass Saturday night shooting in Birmingham.
The shooting happened in the Five Points South Entertainment District, in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue South, about 11 p.m., the Birmingham Police Department posted on the agency's Facebook page. An update said that as of 7 a.m. Sunday, there were four people dead, 18 injured and no people have been arrested.
Officers arriving at the address saw two men and one woman lying outside who were unresponsive. The Birmingham Fire and Rescue department declared them dead on the scene, BPD said. The University of Alabama Hospital also declared a man dead, who was a victim of the shooting, police said. Those injured range in condition from having non-life threatening to life-threatening wounds, BPD said.
The investigations show that "multiple individuals" opened fire on a large group of people who were outside. Police do not feel the shooting is random and are working to determine who were the intended targets.
There is some evidence that shows the weapons used may have been illegally converted to fire automatically through so-called "switches," which are used on semi-automatic handguns. A semi-automatic fires one round with each trigger pull. An automatic weapon fires rounds as long as the trigger is pulled.
"Glock switches are the number one public safety issue in our city and State," Mayor Randall Woodfin posted on his Facebook page. "Converting a semi-automatic weapon to a fully automatic weapon that discharges all bullets within seconds doesn't belong on out domestic streets."
The devices are banned by federal law. Legislators have pushed to codify the ban under state law.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the FBI are assisting in the investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Secret Witness line at 205-254-7777.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at
