4-year-old girl shot in head in Birmingham crossfire; suspect in custody

A 4-year-old girl is fighting for her life after she was shot while inside an east Birmingham apartment Sunday night.

A suspect was taken into custody at about 1 a.m. Monday, according to police. The suspect’s name has not been released because charges have not been filed.

The victim, Jurnee, is planning to attend Pre-K at Hayes K-8 School. Her last name was not released.

Jurnee’s favorite color is purple, and she loves chicken pot pie, said Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin.

Woodfin met with Jurnee’s parents at Children’s of Alabama Monday morning. He asked them what he could do and what the community could do for them. They replied, “Pray for our 4-year-old.”

Birmingham police were dispatched on a report of a person shot just after 10 p.m. to Joppa Avenue in the city’s Marks Village public housing community. Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams said they arrived on the scene to find the victim was a child.

She was rushed to Children’s of Alabama, with family members following close behind the Birmingham Fire and Rescue truck and police.

Neighbors say the little girl was inside the apartment and a relative was getting her juice from the refrigerator when two suspects got into a shootout right outside the apartment. A round entered the unit and struck the little girl in the head.

Gate City Shooting July 28, 2019

A 4-year-old girl getting juice out of the refrigerator was shot in the head when a gun fight erupted outside a Gate City apartment Sunday night.

One witness, who asked not to be named, said a person in a Jeep and another in a Dodge Challenger or Charger got into a shooting. “They started shooting and I started running,’’ she said. “There were so many shots.”

“A lady was like, ‘Can you help me?’’’ she said. That’s when she saw the little girl lying on the ground bleeding from her head.

“I had to turn around because I started crying,’’ she said. “It was emotional. Seeing that little girl broke my heart.”

Witnesses and police radio traffic said one of the possible suspect vehicles flipped nearby. As of 10:45 p.m., Williams said no suspects were in custody and detectives and officers were canvassing the area looking for them and for witnesses.

“I just need everyone to keep her in prayer,‘’ one family member said of the little girl.

The shooting caps a violent weekend in the city that saw three people shot outside an Ensley nightclub in Sunday’s predawn hours and a double shooting Sunday afternoon in north Birmingham that left a man and a woman injured. Williams said none of those five victims from earlier in the day have life-threatening injuries.

Woodfin expressed outrage at the violence.

“If you see any type of look in my face or the volume I have in my voice, it is out of concern when you go into a hospital room early in the morning to talk to parents who are crying while their child is fighting for their life,’’ Woodfin said. “I am angry, and I am frustrated.’’

In situations like this, the mayor said, people want to place blame whether it be on city leaders, police leaders or the leaders at the Birmingham Housing Authority. The shooting, he said, happened outside of a private residence between two family members, but he did not say whether those men were family members of Jurnee, or to each other.

“It’s not something you can necessarily police. It no form, in no way, in no shape, should a 4-year-old be shot and that’s tragic,’’ he said. “There’s only one person to look to blame and that’s the shooter. Adults have got to do better. Period.”

Woodfin said the residents of Gate City are not to blame. “Gate City is a good neighborhood with families that live here, law abiding people who take care of their families,’’ he said. “The issues we’ve seen here are not people that necessarily live here. They are coming from outside, bringing their issue to someone‘s private residence. That’s cowardly in my opinion and it’s unacceptable.”

He described the shooting as reckless and irresponsible behavior.

“My heart breaks for this family, for this community that is looking for answers,’’ he said. “When you have an issue, a beef or drama with somebody, be aware of the decisions you make because they be costly.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764.

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