At least four people have been killed and 18 injured in a mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, police say.

“Multiple shooters fired multiple shots on a group of people” late on Saturday in the Five Points South area of the city, Birmingham police officer Truman Fitzgerald said.

Officers found the bodies of two men and one woman at the scene, while a third man later died of bullet wounds in hospital, Birmingham Police said.

  • Optional@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    There have been more than 400 mass shootings across the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are injured or killed.

    Anyone know why there isn’t a governmental database of mass shootings?

    That’s right.

  • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    “Converting a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon that discharges all bullets within seconds doesn’t belong on our domestic streets,” he wrote, adding that the city does not have the power to outlaw Glock switches, only the state.

    Does this guy not know that it’s already illegal at the federal level? You can buy these things on sites like temu. I got a temu ad on Facebook one time that showed one. They will never outlaw semi auto pistols in a red state, there’s nothing they can do except block websites where you can buy these items, even then you can 3d print or machine one on your own.

    • seaQueue@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I mean, it’s pretty straightforward to run sting buy operations and then go after the platform selling illegal products. I’m surprised there isn’t an ATF taskforce devoted to combing the usual internet marketplaces and then filing federal charges.

      • PriorityMotif@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I’m sure they have immunity because they are an intermediary, just like a social media company isn’t responsible for the content their users post as long as they remove illegal content when they see it.

  • FirstCircle@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    At the scene, multiple people pulled over in a car and fired with at least one automatic weapon at one person before getting back into the vehicle and fleeing the scene, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said in an update Sunday morning. More than 100 shell casings were collected at the scene, among other pieces of evidence, and bystanders were caught in the crossfire.

    Thurmond said the shooting was not random and may have stemmed from an alleged murder-for-hire against an individual in the Five Points South entertainment district at the time. No one is in custody, but police are asking for businesses and witnesses to report any information they have.

    City and police officials believe a switch — a small device that can convert a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic weapon — may have been used in the shooting.

    https://wbhm.org/2024/birmingham-police-4-dead-dozens-injured-in-five-points-south-mass-shooting/

  • Ghostalmedia@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    This really sucks for Birmingham. Birmingham, AL is a really cool town with really down-to-earth people.

  • frazw@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Surely the day is approaching where enough Americans have been personally affected by gun violence that there are more that have than haven’t. I often wondered if the reason it persists is because it is something that happens to other people so there is no feeling of urgency to put it at the center of politics. But it happens every fucking month??? …wait, I just checked and I’m being too generous with “month”. They happen almost every day. We only seem to hear about them once or twice a month outside America. You guys have them more regularly than sports games.