Charles Langston:'Grieving-type screaming': 4 dead in Birmingham, Alabama; FBI investigating

This page is Charles Langstona summary of news on the Birmingham shooting for Sunday, Sept. 22. For the latest updates, view our file for Monday, Sept. 23.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

At least four people were killed, more than a dozen were wounded and an intensive search was underway Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama, for gunmen who fired into a crowd in the city's entertainment district in what the police chief described as a "hit."

Chief Scott Thurmond said two men and a woman died at the scene Saturday night and an additional person died a short time later at a local hospital. He said about 17 people were wounded. First responders rushed some of them to hospitals while others traveled to hospitals around the city on their own.

Thurmond said the gunmen rolled up in a vehicle at around 11 p.m., got out, and fired into the crowd on the streets in the Five Points South district, a popular area of shops, bars, and restaurants. The shooters then fled the scene, where more than 100 shell casings were found, he said.

The victims included the person who was targeted, he said, but added that he did not know the motive for the killing.

"We believe there was a hit, if you will, on that particular person," he said.

Birmingham police identified the victims Sunday night as Anitra Holloman, 21, Tahj Booker, 27, and Carlos McCain, 27, CNN and AL.com reported. Authorities are still working to identify the fourth victim, according to a news release.

Birmingham police did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment on Sunday night.

$5,000 reward offered for help in finding the killers

Thurmond said no arrests had been made and investigators were viewing video surveillance recordings for clues. The FBI and ATF were assisting in the investigation.

Thurmon urged the public to provide any information they might have. Tips leading to an arrest could pay up to $5,000, authorities said.

"It's going to take everyone to work together to get these individuals off the streets who inflicted this carnage on our city last night," Thurmond said. "No one in our city wants these people on our streets."

Witness hears chilling cries

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said a Glock "switch" had been used that converts semiautomatic handguns into automatic weapons.

"This is not the first occasion, unfortunately, in 2024 where we’ve seen the style of weapons, the number of bullets on the scene, ... for automatic weapons being used in our streets," Woodfin said.

The devices are banned by federal law. Legislators have pushed to codify the ban under state law, but that effort fell short in the last state legislative session.

"We need the necessary tools," Woodfin said. "We don’t have a home rule. I want to work with the state… to solve this problem."

Dajon Singleton told WBMA-TV he was driving into the area when he saw the emergency response and chaos on the streets as people ran and screamed. He saw five or six people taken away on stretchers, he said.

"Very devastating, sad," he said. "The grieving-type screaming. ... That's when I instantly knew someone lost a loved one."

Contributing: Marty Roney, Montgomery Advertiser