BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A total of six people are dead following shootings in two Birmingham neighborhoods, officials said, shortly after police responded to another deadly shooting in the area.
Dozens of shots were fired Friday afternoon outside of a Birmingham home in the Smithfield community, police said.
A group had been standing outside of a house as people got their cars washed when someone drove by and opened fire, police said. Rescue workers pronounced three men dead at the scene. A fourth man was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was also pronounced dead.
Investigators believe at least one of the victims was targeted. No arrests were immediately reported.
Fox affiliate WBRC reported two people were found shot dead in the nearby Wylam community earlier in the day.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin took to social media on Friday to publicly condemn the recent mass violence in the city. In his post, Woodfin wrote that one of the six who were killed was a city employee, and another was his own cousin.
"Justice cannot be achieved in the dark," Woodfin wrote. "The families of these victims deserve answers and the cowards who have such a reckless disregard for life must pay for their actions.
Truman Fitzgerald with Birmingham Police Department told WBRC that speaking out will be crucial to ending the violence. “As long as we keep quiet, people are going to feel emboldened to do violence,” he said.
As of Friday night, there had been no arrests announced in either shooting case. Authorities are asking anyone who may have information on either incident to reach out to Birmingham Police, or to submit a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers.
