By The Guardian (World News) | Created at 2024-09-24 13:50:16 | Updated at 2024-10-02 00:22:34
1 week ago
As authorities in Alabama entered a third day searching for those responsible for carrying out a shooting outside a nightclub that killed four people and wounded 17 on Saturday night, they are offering a combined reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to arrests.
The mass murder in question occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, just after 11pm on Saturday. Police say that multiple people pulled up outside a nightclub in a vehicle, jumped out of the car, fired guns and then fled the scene.
The deadly shooting was not random, police said over the weekend. Officials believe that the shooting was aimed at one of the four people killed and that the other victims were uninvolved bystanders caught in the crossfire.
Officials identified the four people slain as Anitra Holloman, 21; Tahj Booker, 27; Carlos McCain, 27; and Roderick Lynn Patterson Jr, 26, according to CNN.
Speaking Monday to CNN, Booker’s aunt, Sheila Everson, said that her nephew was attending an alumni celebration event with his cousin when the shooting erupted.
“He was not the type of kid who would go out to nightclubs,” Everson said. “Tahj was adorable. He was just like a teddy bear, the sweetest person ever. He wouldn’t harm anybody. He was a no-drama type of guy. He was always helping people.”
At a news conference on Monday, authorities announced that 12 of the 17 wounded had been released from hospital.
Birmingham officials, meanwhile, offered a cash reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.
Katie Britt, a Republican US senator from Alabama, released a statement on Monday in response to the shooting, saying that her heart was broken for the families of the victims.
“This kind of senseless violence has no place in America. Law enforcement agencies are working diligently to find the culprits and ensure justice is served,” she said.
“I remain committed to being a partner at the federal level to local and state officials working to keep Alabamians safe,” she continued. She also said it was “past time” for the US “to address the root causes of a growing culture of violence.
“Making the change we all want to see starts in hearts and homes,” Britt said.
Britt’s statement did not propose federal legislation to increase gun control in the US. As of Tuesday morning, the US had reported at least 24 mass murders nationwide in 2024, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass murder as one in which four victims are killed or wounded.
Birmingham has accounted for two of those mass murders.
The mayor of Birmingham, Randall Woodfin, has urged Alabama legislators to restrict access to high-powered rifles and ban what are known as Glock switches, one of which was used in Saturday’s shooting. Such devices allow a conventional semi-automatic Glock pistol to function as a fully automatic firearm.
Woodfin said on Sunday that he was praying for the families of the slain victims as well as the injured who are currently “under medical care fighting for their lives”.
“I hope the perpetrators of this crime know how deep this trauma goes,” he said. “There are families and children in immeasurable pain. There’s an entire community in mourning. Those are the consequences of your actions.”
