4 dead and 18 injured in mass shooting in Alabama city's entertainment district

By KIM CHANDLER, Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) — Four people were killed and 18 others wounded in a mass shooting in a popular Birmingham, Alabama, nightlife district, with many of the victims caught in the crossfire, police said early Sunday. Authorities asked the public for information in locating the gunmen.

The shooting occurred shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday in the Five Points South entertainment district, Officer Truman Fitzgerald said in an email.

Officers found two men and a woman with gunshot wounds on a sidewalk and pronounced them dead there. Another male gunshot victim was pronounced dead at the hospital, Fitzgerald said.

A preliminary investigation revealed that “several suspects fired shots at a large group of people who were outdoors in a public area,” police said.

“Investigators believe the shooting was not random, but rather an isolated incident in which multiple victims were caught in the crossfire,” Fitzgerald said.

Injured people were taken to hospitals, Fitzgerald said. By Sunday morning, police had identified 18 more victims with injuries, some of them critically ill.

Authorities believe the intended target was among the dead, Police Chief Scott Thurmond said at a press conference on Sunday morning.

“The suspects drove up in a vehicle, exited, fired shots, got back in the vehicle and fled the scene,” Thurmond said.

There were no immediate arrests. A large-scale manhunt for the shooters was underway, and Birmingham police reached out to federal authorities to help with the investigation, officials told AL.com. Anyone with information was asked to contact authorities.

“Rest assured, we will do everything in our power to track down, identify and hunt down those responsible for the attacks on our people,” Fitzgerald said.

The Five Points South area is home to entertainment venues, restaurants and bars, and is often very busy on Saturday nights.