Shooting Claims Four Lives In Birmingham; Community Seeks Answers

The victims were believed to have been targeted, according to investigators.

A drive-by shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, claimed the lives of four men, leaving their community devastated and in search of answers as violence escalates across the city.

On Feb. 16, Cortez Ray, 32, Talton Tait, 36, Terrell Edwards, 38, and Kevin McGhee, 38, were standing outside a neighborhood car wash in Smithfield when shots began to ring in the air, according to AL News.

“I heard the gunshots and kind of ran,” said Jimone Griffin, one of the victim’s mothers. “I turned around, and they were still shooting.” Griffin revealed that she had just finished having lunch with her son, Tait, when the fatal attack began. She recalled the moment she realized her son had been killed. “I was just pacing. I didn’t want to come back over here because I knew.”

Tait, along with Ray and Edwards, was pronounced dead at the scene. McGhee died at UAB Hospital shortly after. The victims had been childhood friends and, according to investigators, were targeted. This incident was one of seven shooting homicides in Birmingham in just 24 hours, according to USA Today.

Mayor Randall Woodfin released a statement on Facebook addressing the recent spate of violence in Birmingham. “This has been a heartbreaking afternoon for our city. A half dozen families are in mourning,” he wrote. “That includes the family of one of our city employees. That also includes my own family.” Woodfin’s own cousin was found dead in a separate double-homicide shooting that same Friday. The victims were Christan Norris and his girlfriend, Angeliyah Webster, both 20. Their bodies were found in the Wylam area, according to WVTM 13.

“My family is no stranger to the devastating consequences of violence,” Woodfin continued. “The pain never gets easier. This level of loss is distressing, unacceptable, and cannot – must not – be tolerated. But right now, I’m not thinking about myself. I’m thinking about that employee’s family, who now has an empty chair at the dinner table. I’m thinking about my cousin’s mother. I’m thinking about the other four families who are facing the unimaginable right now.” He instructed anybody with knowledge surrounding the murders to contact CrimeStoppers at 205- 254-7777.

Birmingham Police Department Chief Scott Thurmond also published a statement. “Our city has been rocked to its core by today’s events,” he wrote. “Our city and communities are hurting beyond belief. Our citizens and the City of Birmingham deserve better. The Birmingham Police Department will work tirelessly to solve these murders as well as many others that remain unsolved.”