BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — A late-night family gathering in Birmingham’s Ensley neighborhood turned deadly Saturday when gunfire ripped through an apartment, killing two men and injuring a woman in what police describe as a domestic-related double homicide. A female relative is in custody, and detectives say the victims were among several family members who had come together after a funeral for another recent shooting victim.
Officers from Birmingham’s West Precinct were called just before 11:30 p.m. to the 1400 block of 20th Place Ensley, part of the Tuxedo Terrace apartment complex, on a report of multiple people shot. When they arrived, police found two men and a woman suffering from gunshot wounds inside an apartment; the men were pronounced dead at the scene, while the woman was taken to UAB Hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
Investigators said they believe a female family member fired into the apartment from outside, sending a burst of shots into a crowded front room as relatives gathered late into the night. Police said the shooting appeared to stem from a domestic dispute within a large extended family, though they have not publicly detailed what sparked the argument before the gunfire.
Detectives described a chaotic scene, with numerous relatives still at the apartment complex after the shooting and shell casings scattered outside in the darkness. The gathering followed the funeral of a 29-year-old man recently killed in a separate shooting in Fairfield, adding another layer of grief as family members absorbed news that two more loved ones were dead.
Birmingham police said the department’s Special Enforcement Team, working with Bessemer police, tracked the suspect to a residence in Bessemer and arrested her within hours of the attack. Authorities have not released the names of the victims or the suspect, but the deaths mark two of the latest homicides in a city already grappling with a year marked by repeated bloodshed.