Mayor Randall Woodfin releases statement after 4 homicides over 3 days in Birmingham

Tragically, we have had four homicides occur between Wednesday and Friday. While we mourn all deaths of our community members and support Birmingham police in their investigation, I truly believe these deaths could have been avoided.

One of these homicides occurred in a front yard. According to the preliminary investigation there was a verbal altercation, no physical fight. Literally straight from words to pulling out guns.

The second occurred in a public park. Preliminary investigations found that there was a verbal altercation in the park earlier that day. Hours later, another argument escalated into gunshots, resulting in death.

The third occurred outside of a package store at 3:15 a.m. Preliminary investigation reveals that a verbal altercation escalated to a physical fight between two men. One man pulled out a gun and fatally shot the other.

The fourth occurred in a lounge, when someone shot into the location. Police believe it was targeted.

In all four tragedies, we see the same patterns repeated – adults using bullets to solve disputes. These aren't random acts of violence – it's people who know each other disregarding human life just because of a disagreement.

Arguments should not end in death.