According to media reports, at least four people were killed by gunfire in a popular nightlife district in the US city of Birmingham in the state of Alabama. At least 21 other people were injured in the incident on Saturday evening, some of them critically, reported the local news portal AL.com, citing police spokesman Truman Fitzgerald. According to initial investigations, “several shooters fired numerous shots,” the police spokesman said on Sunday night (local time). Two men and a woman were reportedly killed on the spot, a third victim died in hospital. According to the portal, no one has been arrested so far.
Police launch appeal for witnesses
Investigators believe that several perpetrators fired shots at people on Magnolia Avenue in Birmingham, Alabama, shortly after 11 p.m. (local time) on Saturday evening. It was also initially unclear whether the shots were fired from passing vehicles or whether the perpetrators were on foot. The police called on witnesses to pass on any information, no matter how small. Shop owners who have their businesses on or near the crime scene were asked to provide the police with surveillance camera footage.
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Initial reports said clubgoers were waiting in line outside a hookah and cigar lounge on Magnolia Avenue when the shooting occurred, AL.com reported. Witnesses said at least some of the shots sounded like they came from a gun equipped with a switch that turns a weapon into full automatic.
By 2024, there will be 403 attacks with firearms in the USA
According to the activist group Gun Violence Archive, there have already been 403 gun attacks in the US this year with four or more victims. The organization estimates the number of deaths from gun violence at at least 12,416 since the beginning of the year.
