Birmingham double shooting: 1 dead, 1 injured; 1 in custody

One person was killed and another was injured in a double shooting Wednesday night in southwest Birmingham, police said.

Just after 6 p.m. Wednesday, West Precinct officers received a call about a person shot in the 1700 block of Pearson Avenue SW, Officer Truman Fitzgerald said.

Officers arrived at the scene to find an adult man with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound, Fitzgerald said, then police found a second man lying on the sidewalk with life-threatening injuries.

Members of the community were already treating one of the victims when “our officers stepped in and took over life-saving duties,” Fitzgerald said.

Birmingham Fire Rescue responded to the scene and transported both victims to UAB Hospital, where the man with life-threatening injuries died of his injuries.

According to Fitzgerald, the preliminary investigation showed that all the participants in the shooting knew each other.

“We believe that this all happened because of an argument between the deceased victim and a third male adult,” he said. “He was not shot in this case. … We believe that all parties involved knew each other, so in this incident the suspect and the victim or victims knew each other.”

A separate police officer, named as a person of interest in the case, was taken into custody at the scene and is due to be questioned at Birmingham police headquarters in the city centre.

As of Wednesday evening, detectives were still determining that person’s involvement in the incident, Fitzgerald said.

“What we need now from the public, if you have any additional information, we encourage you to come forward call to CrimeStoppers so you can get paid for your tips,” the officer said, adding that whistleblowers can remain anonymous.