Celebrating the New Year holiday with the reckless and irresponsible shooting of firearms in the air is not only unlawful, but dangerous. The projectile that goes into the air has to come down. It can cause property damage and more significantly may cause serious injury or death. A bullet fired into the air can climb up to two miles. When it falls back to earth, it can reach a speed of 300 to 700 feet per second. A velocity of only 200 feet per second is sufficient to penetrate the human skull.
We are asking that citizens refrain from shooting their weapons during this year’s celebration. If you see someone fire a gun, call the police. If a stray bullet from your gun should hit or kill someone, you will be arrested and charged with felony assault or murder. There will be a high visibility of officers throughout the city to enforce firearms violations.
At 10 a.m. on Monday, December 30, Birmingham Police Chief, A.C. Roper and his command staff addressed the media about the dangers of celebratory gunfire and gave an overview of the upcoming New Year’s Eve operation to combat this problem.
Celebratory Gunfire Enforcement “Operation Crackdown”
The Birmingham Police Department reports officer enforcement during Operation Crackdown on Tuesday, December 31, 2013, between the hours of 9:30 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 1, 2014. Information includes all four precincts.
Adult Juvenile
Gunfire Arrest 0 0
Fireworks Seized 0 0
Weapons Seized 10 0
*Three seized weapons are recovered stolen weapons.
Felony Misd.
Firearms Arrest 0 2
Other Arrest 11 4
Total Arrest 11 6
Total Charges 22 6
The information below reflects corrected stats that differ from earlier reported numbers in Media Release #1 of 2014. After analyzing the call response of officers, duplicate calls were removed from multiple officers showing to have responded to the same call
Curfew Violations 0
Gunfire Calls for service 533
Shot-Spotter Gunfire Calls 513
Shot-Spotter Fireworks Calls 430
Fireworks Calls for service 0
Total Number of Calls for service 1,456
Shooting Death Investigation
The Birmingham Police Department reports that detectives are conducting a shooting death investigation. The incident occurred on Wednesday, January 1, 2014 at approximately 1:30 a.m., at 3212 Wesley Avenue.
The victim has been identified as:
Desmond Bias, B/M, 36, of Birmingham, Alabama.
West Precinct officers responded to the incident location to investigate a report of a person shot. Upon arrival, officers located the victim lying in the roadway suffering from a gunshot wound. Birmingham Fire and Rescue arrived and pronounced the victim deceased on the scene. The second party involved in the incident was located at the scene and taken into custody.
Investigators learned that there was a domestic altercation between two adult couples that included the victim and his wife and the male shooter and his wife. Investigators found that the altercation began in the neighboring City of Midfield and proceeded to the incident location just before the shooting. Detectives are continuing to investigate and will present their findings to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s office for review and determination if charges will be filed.
This incident is not believed to be associated with New Year’s Eve celebratory gunfire.
If there is anyone who has information pertaining to the case, they are encouraged to contact the BPD @ 254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 254-7777.
Celebratory Gunfire Enforcement “Operation Crackdown” Update 2
The Birmingham Police Department reports officer enforcement during Operation Crackdown on Tuesday, December 31, 2013, between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. Wednesday, January 1, 2014. Information includes all four precincts.
Adult Juvenile
Gunfire Arrest 0 0
Fireworks Seized 0 0
Weapons Seized * 10 0
*Three seized weapons are recovered stolen weapons.
Felony Misd.
Firearms Arrest 0 1
Other Arrest 13 6
Total Arrest 13 8
Total Charges 24 8
The information below reflects corrected stats that differ from earlier reported numbers in Media Release #1 of 2014. After analyzing the call response of officers, duplicate calls were removed from multiple officers showing to have responded to the same call.
Curfew Violations 0
Gunfire Calls for service * 488
Shot-Spotter Gunfire Calls * 488
Shot-Spotter Fireworks Calls ** 315
Fireworks Calls for service ** 0
Total Number of Calls for service 803
* Most of the Gunfire calls for service and Shot-Spotter Gunfire calls are matching calls for the same location. Some Gunfire calls and Shot-Spotter calls also contain multiple calls to the same location.
** Most of the Fireworks calls for service and Shot-Spotter Fireworks calls are matching calls for the same location. Some Fireworks calls and Shot-Spotter Fireworks calls also contain multiple calls to the same location.
