A mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday night has left four people dead and at least 17 others injured. The incident occurred in the nightlife district of Five Points South, near the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Two men and a woman were pronounced dead at the scene, while a fourth victim, an adult male, died at a nearby hospital.
According to Birmingham Police, a group of individuals drove up to the area just after 11 p.m., exited their vehicles, and began shooting. The suspects then returned to their cars and fled the scene.
In total, 21 people were shot, including at least four who sustained life-threatening injuries. Eleven victims were taken to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, where one of the deceased was also treated.
Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond stated that over 100 shell casings were recovered at the scene and that gun conversion devices, sometimes called "switches," may have been used to modify weapons to operate like machine guns.
As of Sunday morning, no suspects were in custody. The Birmingham Police Department, in cooperation with the FBI and the ATF, is leading the investigation and urging anyone with information to come forward.
This shooting is part of a troubling pattern of mass shootings in Birmingham. In July, four people were killed and 10 others injured in a nightclub shooting, and in February, four men were shot and killed outside a public library.
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