Alabama has seen a surge in violent crime over the past year as drugs and criminal street gangs are both running rampant due to the diversity transporting dangerous narcotics from Mexico into America's Southern states.
The cartels have a stranglehold over inner cities supplying predominantly African Americans who are without work an outlet to make quick cash, by giving them drugs to profit from further degenerating the communities which were once proud and clean of such filth.
That increase in crime has sparked territorial disputes amongst the various street gangs which are selling crack-cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, and sometimes innocent bystanders become a victim of the horrendous crime because of the battle for supremacy in the streets.
That's exactly what happened last night when 2-year-old Ron'Narius "Duke" Austin was shot and killed when he was in the back seat of a car with his parents and another man.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Police ID 2-year-old killed overnight in Birmingham shooting >> <a href="https://t.co/DaeJKioLd7">https://t.co/DaeJKioLd7</a> <a href="https://t.co/wkeeCzoQj7">pic.twitter.com/wkeeCzoQj7</a></p>— WAFF 48 (@waff48) <a href="https://twitter.com/waff48/status/894299808587972609">August 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The young toddler, his mother, and an adult male were all hit by the gunfire during the brutal shooting.
Police say they responded to the shooting and found the group injured about 11:26 PM in the 4100 block of Third Avenue South.
Birmingham Police Sgt. Bryan Shelton said on Sunday afternoon said the male victim who was shot in the back was the driver of the vehicle during the crime, and that Duke's mother was in the front seat and has multiple gunshots in the arm.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is Ron'Narius "Duke" Austin, killed in Avondale Saturday night. Family said he only recently turned 2: <a href="https://t.co/4wj7Lu0eSJ">https://t.co/4wj7Lu0eSJ</a> <a href="https://t.co/9VLdwhlEri">pic.twitter.com/9VLdwhlEri</a></p>— carol robinson (@RobinsonCarol) <a href="https://twitter.com/RobinsonCarol/status/894227036524466177">August 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Investigators say that the shooting happened at least a block away from where the victims were found, but the driver of the car drove to the Chevron across the street from Avondale Common House, which is where police found them.
Officers patrolling the area, which they say is a popular night commerce area for drugs and criminal activity, heard what they described as “multiple, rapid shots” fired and rushed to the scene.
The two adult victims of the shooting were transported to University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital, which is a nationwide leader in trauma recovery, and Duke went to Children's of Alabama.
The boy's father was on the scene holding his son when police arrived. Police said a gun was found in the backseat of the victims' vehicle but didn't describe whether or not that gun belonged to the victims or the suspects in the shooting.
Sgt. Shelton said the actual gunfire erupted in the alley in the 4200 block of Fourth Avenue South. A vehicle with at least four people in it was at some point involved in a shootout with someone who was inside the victims' vehicle.
After the shooting, he said, the suspect vehicle left the scene of the crime and their whereabouts are currently unknown.
"It is not clear at this time what started the exchange of gunfire," Shelton said. "Information is still coming in, and at this time, we have no suspects or motive."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Birmingham police battle 'no snitch' policy in public housing communities after triple shooting <a href="https://t.co/5HXAPVbLu1">https://t.co/5HXAPVbLu1</a> <a href="https://t.co/67XYhQIbfr">pic.twitter.com/67XYhQIbfr</a></p>— PCE (@PCEBP) <a href="https://twitter.com/PCEBP/status/893922562446688256">August 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Typically in these suspected drug or gang crimes victims aren't willing to talk to police to explain who else may have been involved, an unwritten “street code” that prevents the police from granting justice to those killed.
Investigators say that at around 1:30 AM Sunday, the boy's mother was brought from UAB's ER to Children's see her son. Police and family said he was pronounced dead, but later said he remained on life support. As of 5:30 AM, Birmingham police said the boy had died of the wounds sustained during the crime.
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"Our children, particularly at that age, are really vulnerable. Right now, a family is mourning and has to bury a toddler because of gun violence,'' Shelton said. "A big part of the investigation is to find out what happened in that alleyway that causes the exchange of gunfire between the two vehicles."
Another tragic display of the recklessness of violent crime that's destroying the inner cities around the country, and how drug activity from Mexican Cartels could be greatly reduced if the wall was built ending the madness.
Source:
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2017/08/avondale_birmingham_shooting.html
