1 dead, 1 injured in hail of gunfire outside Shell, Boston Fish Supreme on 3rd Ave. West in Birmingham

A man was killed and a bystander was seriously injured in a shooting outside two Birmingham stores previously described by city officials as a “launch pad for criminal activity.”

The shots rang out around 3 a.m. Saturday in the 800 block of Third Avenue West, in front of the Shell station and Boston Fish Supreme.

Sergeant. LaQuitta Wade said police received several shot spotter alerts. In total, the gunshot detection system registered around 42 shots.

When officers arrived, they found a man unresponsive in a vehicle. The Birmingham Fire Department determined he was dead at the scene.

About two dozen bullet casings surrounded his limousine, which stopped in front of the Boston Fish Supreme. Another collection of shell casings was located directly in front of the Shell, just a few feet from the store’s front door.

Wade said it appeared the victim was attempting to leave the parking lot when the gunman came from near a building and opened fire on the vehicle. The shooter fled.

While officers were on scene, they learned that another victim showed up at Princeton Baptist Medical Center in a private vehicle. He was taken to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

“It is believed the second victim was a passerby in the store,” Wade said.

The victim who was killed had previously been parked in front of the Boston Fish Supreme, police said. His killing appears to have been targeted, although a motive has not yet been revealed.

When the shooting began, Wade said, someone outside Shell also started shooting, and investigators believe the bystander was caught in the crossfire.

“It is believed that when the shooting started here,” Wade said, “someone else who was armed didn’t know if they were being shot and returned fire.”

Five months ago today, one person was killed and six others were injured when more than 150 shots were fired in the same parking lot.

It was just after 2 a.m. that Sunday when officers in the North and West districts first received shotgun warnings

The scene was chaotic, police said, and as officers tried to resolve the incident, they learned that several vehicles had been struck by gunfire and at least one nearby business – Boston Fish Supreme.

The 911 dispatcher began notifying officers that multiple gunshot victims were showing up at area hospitals.

Birmingham City Attorney Nicole King quickly filed a complaint against the owners of 3rd Avenue Ventures, LLC and Express Mart of AL, LLC for Shell and Boston Fish Supreme, which is located next door to Shell.

A city news release called the properties a “launching pad for criminal activity,” including drug trafficking and violence.

In the past year alone, Birmingham police have responded to the area for theft, kidnapping, assault, drugs, dangerous exhibition driving and more, city officials said at the time.

In addition to the fatal shooting there in May, on April 25, 2022, another young man – Davion Hickley – was killed in a similar shooting at the same location, in which more than 100 shots were also fired.

And in one of the most horrific cases, 43-year-old Genise Carter was beaten and kidnapped from the Shell in front of store employees and several witnesses in the gas station parking lot on January 25, even though no one was there, police previously testified in court stopped the attack.

Only one person called 911 and police arrived but couldn’t find anything.

Carter’s body was later found in a cul-de-sac, naked except for a pair of socks. She had been shot in the head.

The city claimed in May that there had been more than 50 calls to Birmingham police about the properties in the previous month.

After the shooting in May, those in attendance erected concrete barriers around the parking lot and installed a loudspeaker that read, “You are trespassing.” Please leave the area. This area is under video surveillance and you have been recorded.”

The status of the lawsuit was initially unknown.

Wade said she didn’t know how many people were outside the stores when the shooting occurred Saturday, but it was still a known gathering spot.

The fatal shooting is the 128th in Birmingham this year. Of these, nine were found to be justified and two others occurred in earlier years, but the victims died in 2024.

There were 162 murders across Jefferson County, including 128 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.