Times staff report
Calling it an “appallingly violent” 24 hours in the City of Birmingham, Councilor LaTonya Tate said she was “heartbroken” by two separate shootings on Saturday that left seven people dead, and 10 others wounded.
Tate, chair of the City Council’s public safety committee, said in a statement on Sunday, “to all of those impacted by the violence that erupted in the last 24 hours, we mourn with you. We also stand with you in the belief that Birmingham deserves more, and we will continue to fight for that vision for our future.”
AL.com reported that the first shooting happened shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday near the entrance to Echo Highlands Park, on the city’s east side. Killed were Arkia “Kia” Berry, 28, her 5-year-old son, Landyn Brooks, and her boyfriend, 28-year-old Eric Ashley Jr.
The second deadly shooting, a drive-by, happened just after 11 p.m. at a private party at a north Birmingham social club. A shooter or shooters unleashed a flurry of bullets that killed two men and two women and injured 10 others.
Those killed in that incident were Angela Weatherspoon, 56, of Center Point, Markeisha Gettings, 42, of Birmingham, Stevie McGhee, 39, of Birmingham, and Lerandus Anderson, 24, of Center Point.
“I am heartbroken this morning,” Tate said in her statement on Sunday. “Birmingham has experienced an appallingly violent 24 hours, and I, like many in our city, feel grief-stricken. We’ve said it too many times: these acts of violence are senseless. They must stop. We cannot become desensitized to this public health crisis. We all want–and envision–so much more for our city.”
“As Chair of Public Safety,” Tate continued, “I’ve also said this many times: we can’t police our way out of this. We need everyone’s help and commitment — from our neighborhood leaders, our churches, our businesses, elected officials — everyone has a part to play. We all have to work together to make the changes that we so desperately need in our communities.”
Tate said the victims “deserve swift justice. If you know anything that can help police, please be part of the effort to make a positive change in Birmingham; report what you know.”
Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond and Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin held a press conference Sunday afternoon and were joined by a host of law enforcement including the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Jefferson County Sheriff Mark Pettway.
As he has done in the past, and like Tate, Woodfin called on members of the public to come forward.
“The Birmingham Police Department’s investigation is better off with credible information that comes from the community,’’ said the mayor.
“Let me define how swift justice works — we can move at a very high speed to solve these cases and bring justice to these families, but it moves faster if we get community buy-in, community support,’’ he said.
Anyone with information about the killings can upload evidence in the triple and quadruple homicide investigations by following this link.
The department on Sunday also provided a QR Code that community members can scan, which goes to the same information portal.
