Birmingham police are investigating a deadly shooting on the city’s Southside.
South Precinct officers responded shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday to Underwood Park in the 1100 block of 26th Street South. Birmingham Sgt. Rod Mauldin said when officers arrived on the scene, they found the victim in her vehicle, which was lodged in the foliage.
She was in the driver’s seat and was pronounced dead on the scene. Evidence in the park and parking lot indicated multiple shots had been fired, Maulding said. Several shell casing markers were placed in the lot, which is not far from the Red Mountain Expressway overpass, about a block from The Nick bar. The rear of the park is behind the St. Vincent’s Hospital parking deck.
At least one woman who lives nearby reported hearing the shots fired. Dozens of the victim’s family and friends rushed to the scene.
“Right now our detectives are canvassing the area,‘' Mauldin said. “We don’t have many details of what took place.”
Someone in the area called 911, but Mauldin said he didn’t know whether there was anybody else in the park at the time of the shooting. He said it was too soon to tell if anyone had been in the vehicle with the victim prior to the slaying.
“We don’t know if this took place somewhere else and her vehicle came to a stop here or if it happened here,‘' Mauldin said. “We are working hard but we need people to come forward with information.”
The deadly shooting is the city’s second on Tuesday and the third in less than 24 hours. Earlier Tuesday, a man was fatally shot about 12:20 a.m. in the 2300 block of Court R at Villas at Westridge apartment complex, said Sgt. Rod Mauldin. Before that, another man was shot to dead on the city’s east side late Monday night.
Tonight’s shooting marks Birmingham’s 68th homicide this year. Of those, eight have been ruled justifiable and one accidental and therefore are not deemed criminal. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 97 homicides, including the 68 in Birmingham.
Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.