The weekend shooting death of a 21-year-old Gadsden woman in Birmingham has been ruled justifiable.
The Birmingham Police Department said Thursday no criminal charges will be filed in the Saturday-night slaying of Keanna Shabree Kelley. The shooting happened shortly after 9 p.m. at a home on Kawanda Lane in east Birmingham.
Birmingham police received a 911 call at 9:11 p.m. that someone – later identified as Kelley - was trying to kick in a door at a home in the 1100 block of Kawanda Lane. Moments later, they received a second call of a person shot at the same location.
When East Precinct officers arrived at the home, they found Kelley unresponsive just outside the front door of the residence. She was pronounced dead on the scene at 9:28 p.m. The preliminary investigation suggests Kelley attempted to force her way into the residence and a physical altercation ensued prior to the victim being shot. Police said the incident was domestic in nature.
One resident said he heard at least two shots fired. Mauldin said he does not know if anyone else was in the home at the time.
Sgt. Rod Mauldin said investigators presented their evidence to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office for review and they ruled the shooter’s actions justifiable.
So far in 2020, there have been 73 homicides in the city. Today’s ruling marked the ninth homicide that has been ruled justifiable so far this year. Additionally, one of the homicides has been ruled accidental. Birmingham police are not required to include justifiable and accidental homicides in their year-end tally.