As of Tuesday evening, the city of Birmingham’s 91-year-old homicide record has officially been broken. Law enforcement officials responded to the city’s 149th homicide at approximately 7:25 p.m. after being notified by a Shot Spotter alert.
The victim, who has yet to be identified, was found by authorities shot in the front yard of a vacant home on 224 3rd Ave S. in the Titusville community. Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel arrived at the location and pronounced the victim deceased.
“We believe the victim, along with a group of individuals, was at a house in the 200 block of Third Avenue South when the victim was involved in an argument with a second adult male suspect,” BPD Officer Truman Fitzgerald said. “The adult male suspect shot the victim and fled the scene.”
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He emphasized that the victims are fellow community members, not just statistics.
“It’s important for us as a department to remember there’s a name, a face, and a family connected to each homicide we respond to. They have names and families that are grieving right now, so we have to do what we can to bring them justice.”
The investigation is ongoing, and no suspects are in custody at this time.
In 1933, when the 91-year-old homicide record was originally set, the city’s population was just under 269,000, with a homicide rate of 5.7 killings per 10,000 people. That is in comparison to today’s population of just below 197,000 people, which results in Birmingham having a murder rate of 7.5 homicides per 10,000 people.
Anyone with information on the case can contact BPD’s Homicide Unit at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
