Three separate deadly shootings on Saturday brought Birmingham’s homicide investigation total in 2023 to over 120 as the year nears its end.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Birmingham City Council, councilwoman Crystal Smitherman told Mayor Randall Woodfin she was “at a loss of words” in response to recent shootings in the Five Points South neighborhood, one of which she said happened last weekend.
Three homicides occurred within 12 hours of each other on Saturday in West Birmingham, each inside the same five-mile radius.
After a record-breaking year in 2022, homicides are down in Birmingham compared to this time last year, according to police.
According to comments he made on a podcast last week, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin may be considering a third run for mayor.
Birmingham City Council approved an agreement with the Jefferson County Board of Health to fund the implementation of a hospital-linked violence intervention program, which is supposed to help reduce acts of retaliation from victims of violent crimes and their loved ones.
In June, the Tuscaloosa City Council voted 5-2 to institute a moratorium on bars within the city limits, citing police shortages and concerns about calls from the Strip, the nightlife district just down the street from the University of Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Last year was Birmingham’s most violent year since the early 1990s, and several sources have ranked the city one of the most unsafe in the country. Meanwhile, Birmingham suburbs like Vestavia Hills and Mountian Brook had considerably low crime rates in 2022, and Vestavia even ranked among the safest places to live in the United States.
Amended legislation adding enhanced penalties for offenders involved in “criminal enterprises” passed the Alabama Senate unanimously on Wednesday.