BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- A 15-year-old was shot and killed in Birmingham Sunday.
According to the Birmingham Police Department, the teen was suffering from a gunshot wound and taken to UAB Hospital just before 7 a.m. The unidentified teenage male was pronounced dead while at UAB. Officer Tuman Fitzgerald of the BPD said police initially believed the teen was 14 years old but later confirmed he was 15.
Officers later learned of a possible shooting location on the 9200 block of Parkway East between the Walmart and Wells Fargo. Police said they were able to determine four other juveniles were with the victim at the time of the shooting. Fitzgerald said officers at the scene found a handgun in bushes and blood on the ground.
Fitzgerald said the preliminary investigation shows there were five males -- a 14-year-old, the 15-year-old gunshot victim, another 15-year-old, a 17-year-old and an 18-year-old -- riding in a minivan around east Birmingham on Sunday morning. Somewhere between the 9200 block of Parkway East and another location, the 14-year-old possessed a gun and allegedly shot the 15-year-old under unknown circumstances. Police believe the shooting may have occurred in the minivan.
Police made contact with the four other males at UAB Hospital. They questioned them at BPD Headquarters. The juveniles each had a parent or guardian present during their interviews. Fitzgerald said believe all five people were acquaintances. Police do not believe the shooting was a murder, though the Jefferson County Medical Examiner's Office is determining the manner of death.
BPD detectives consulted with the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office, and officers transported the 14-year-old to the Jefferson County Youth Detention Center.
Fitzgerald noted a community member provided useful information to police on the case. Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact Birmingham Police Department at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.