Four dead & 18 injured in horror mass shooting with victims ‘caught in crossfire’ as cops hunt multiple gunmen
AT LEAST four people have been gunned down and 18 others injured after a horror mass shooting.
A huge manhunt has since been launched as cops search Birmingham, Alabama for multiple gunman they believe may have been behind the attack.
Birmingham police officer Truman Fitzgerald said: “Multiple shooters fired multiple shots on a group of people.”
Two men and a woman were found dead on the roadside on Saturday evening.
A fourth man later died in hospital with serious gunshot wounds.
Cops believe one of the people gunned down was the target of the fatal attack with the others being caught in the crossfire.
Rounds of gunfire first erupted in the Five Points South entertainment district outside the popular Hush hookah and cigar lounge on Magnolia Avenue just after 11pm.
Among the 18 others who were left injured some are said to still be in life-threatening conditions.
Many are receiving treatment at the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital.
Shocked witness Dajon Singleton told WVTM that screaming and crying voices could be heard along the street.
Geoffrey Boshell, 22, was working on a school project when he heard the chilling sound of rapid gunfire from his window.
He said: “I heard it, looked out my window and immediately see people screaming, fleeing the scene.
“I’m not sure scared is the right word. Just very disturbed that it was happening right outside where you are living.”
Cops are still said to be investigating if the gunmen walked up to the victims or was in a car when they fired the shots.
They believe the attack was “not random and stemmed from an isolated incident”.
Over 100 shell casings were found in the area, say police.
No arrests have been made as of yet.
Officer Fitzgerald said: “Rest assured, we are going to do everything we possibly can to uncover, identify and hunt down whoever was responsible for preying on our people.”
Cops believe the weapon used was a Glock switch gun where the handler is able to flip between an automatic and semi-automatic weapon attached to a Glock.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin declared the weapons are “the number one public safety issue” in the city.
He has called on them to be outlawed after the attack.
Woodfin made a passionate plea for safety at a press conference on Sunday as he said: “We find ourselves in 2024, where gun violence is at an epidemic level, an epidemic crisis in our country.
“And the city of Birmingham, unfortunately finds itself at the tip of that spear.
“Elected officials locally, statewide and nationally have a duty to solve this American crisis, this American epidemic of gun violence.”
There have been more than 400 mass shootings across the US this year, according to Gun Violence Archive.
The nearby streets where the shooting took place have all been closed off as cops continue to search the area.
Officer Fitzgerald said they have been in contact with the FBI and ATF for support on the investigation.
A $5,000 reward is also being offered in exchange for information on the possible killers and their motives.
Birmingham police have also asked for any businesses in the local area with CCTV cameras to check the footage and hand it over to officers.