By Barnett Wright | The Birmingham Times
After a stunning mass shooting in Birmingham’s Five Points South entertainment district that left four people dead and 17 others wounded on Saturday, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin again called on state lawmakers to take action and outlaw Glock switches, devices that turn semi-automatic handguns into automatic weapons, or machine guns.
However, one current state lawmaker and a former Birmingham assistant police chief, said the solution to reducing gun violence in the city does not solely rest with the Legislature.
Allen Treadaway, who has served in the Alabama House of Representatives since 2006 and is a former BPD Assistant Chief who retired in 2020 after 31 years, said, “the real issue is staffing [and with fewer officers on the streets] there is no fear of law enforcement right now. There was no presence [in Five Points South] of law enforcement to the degree that we used to have.”
Just after 11 p.m. on Saturday, Birmingham Police received a call of a shooting in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue. Officials arrived on scene and saw two men and one woman lying unresponsive on the sidewalk. Police say the victims died at the scene. They are identified as Anitra Holloman, 21, from Bessemer, Tahj Booker, 27, and Carlos McCain, 27, both from Birmingham.
A fourth victim, Roderick Lynn Paterson Jr., 26, from Birmingham, was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital.
Police say a gun with a Glock switch was among the weapons fired, resulting in the carnage left behind. “This is not the first occasion, unfortunately, in 2024, where we’ve seen the style of weapons, the number of bullets on the scene possibly converted automatic weapons being used in our streets,’’ Woodfin said Sunday
Three of the nation’s 23 mass shootings this year were in Birmingham, including two earlier quadruple homicides.
Woodfin has previously called Glock switches “the number one public safety issue in Birmingham and the state … Ban Glock switches. This shouldn’t be up for debate … We need our legislators to pass laws that save lives and give local authorities the tools (laws) to arrest those who just drive around and walk around with these weapons.”
Treadaway said the focus shouldn’t be as much on lawmakers as it should on a “robust, recruitment and retention policy” in the police department.
In August, wbhm.org reported that the Birmingham police department has 250 fewer officers than what its budget calls for. As recently as June, the department was down 320 officers and by some estimates, that’s about half of a fully staffed BPD, the site reported.
With fewer officers “we’re emboldening the criminal,” Treadaway said, “they are committing more and more homicides, more and more crimes — and these aren’t all new murderers. These are folks who have been around we haven’t caught … this is not the first rodeo for people who would be so brazen to step outside of their vehicle and shoot up a crowd; it’s because there is no fear of law enforcement right now. There was no presence of law enforcement to the degree we used to have.”
While police officials said it’s no secret that law enforcement agencies everywhere have struggled with recruiting in recent years, Birmingham was encouraged last month when 18 new police officers graduated in the largest rookie class in four years.
After more than three decades with BPD, Treadaway said he’s familiar with the Five Points South area where the mass shooting occurred on Saturday.
“We always had officers walking the beat and we had patrolmen in the area because we had a congregation of people … if you are down several hundred police officers from a few years back [how can you adequately patrol that area]? Tell me why [the shooters] felt so confident that can drive up, spot the intended target, look around and see no presence of law enforcement, step out of a car and spray all of these people with bullets?”
Treadaway said he’s surprised to hear a call for legislative action when “we have laws on the books … we don’t have law enforcement officers to stop it or go after [perpetrators] and hold them accountable.”
Woodfin said, “I don’t care about Democratic politics, Republican politics. What is my top priority, along with the Birmingham Police Department, is public safety.”
Treadaway, who is chairman of the Alabama House Public Safety Homeland Security Committee, said the Glock switch is currently in violation of federal law and legislators expect to take up and pass legislation to outlaw Glock switches in the next legislative session.
He pointed to a bill filed by State Rep. Philip Ensler, D-Montgomery, during the last session banning the Glock switch devices at the state level. It passed in the House but was not read in the Senate before the session ended. Ensler has since pre-filed the bill, HB26 for next year’s session and Treadaway, R-Morris, said it has bipartisan support.
On Saturday, police believe multiple suspects arrived at the Five Points South location in a vehicle, exited the vehicle and fired multiple shots at a group on Magnolia Avenue before getting back in and fleeing the scene.
Detectives say the shooting was not random and stemmed from an isolated incident where multiple victims were caught in the crossfire. As of Sunday evening, no one is in custody and a manhunt is underway for the killers, police said.
The ATF and FBI are helping the Birmingham Police Department in the investigation. Those with information on the case are urged to call the BPD at 205-254-1764 or submit an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Crime Stoppers could award tipsters up to $5,000.
Additionally, the BPD has created an evidence submission portal for anyone with information regarding the quadruple homicide.
Updated at 10:52 a.m. on 9/23/2024 to include name of the fourth victim.
