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Oct 18, 2024

Suspect arrested in Alabama shooting, also charged in other homicides

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. − Authorities in Birmingham arrested a man in connection with a mass shooting in September that killed four people and injured 17 others in the city's entertainment district. Police

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. − Authorities in Birmingham arrested a man in connection with a mass shooting in September that killed four people and injured 17 others in the city's entertainment district. Police also charged the suspect in two separate homicide cases.

Damien McDaniel, 22, of Fairfield, faces charges of capital murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the mass shooting, according to Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond. He faces additional murder charges and three counts of attempted murder in the killings of two other people.

On Sept. 21, multiple shooters opened fire into a crowd in the bustling Five Points South Entertainment District, police said at the time. Thurmond previously described the shooting as "a hit," saying a single person was targeted and multiple bystanders were caught in the crossfire.

In the wake of the shooting, police recovered more than 100 shells from the scene. The fatal victims were identified as Anitra Hollman, 21, Tahj Booker, 27, Carlos McCain, 27, and Roderick Lynn Patterson Jr., 26.

At a news conference Wednesday, Thurmond said the investigation continues into the mass shooting and other cases connected to McDaniel.

"After the horrific shooting at Five Points South, we vowed that our priority would be to find, capture, and arrest every person responsible for this heinous and brazen mass shooting," Birmingham Mayor Mayor Randall L. Woodfin said in a statement Wednesday. "Today was a major step toward justice."

More:Birmingham mass shooting: Police identify victims as search continues for suspects

Authorities charged McDaniel in two homicides that took place within days of the mass shooting last month.

On Sept. 19, Diontranet Brown, 35, was shot and killed at a bar in downtown Birmingham. Police said she was an innocent bystander. McDaniel has so far been named the only suspect and faces multiple murder charges in the case.

Then on Sept. 22, police say McDaniel was involved in the killing of Jamarcus DeSean McIntyre, who was found fatally shot on a sidewalk northeast of downtown Birmingham. McDaniel has been charged capital murder and three counts of attempted murder. Three other suspects have been arrested in the case.

McDaniel is being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.

The Birmingham assault was one of at least 420 mass shootings in the U.S. this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that defines mass shootings as incidents involving four or more victims.

The incident was also one of the latest shootings to rock the city of Birmingham. In July, a shooting at a nightclub left four people dead. The same month, three people, including a 5-year-old child, were killed in a shooting.

In the wake of the mass shooting, Woodfin said in a statement that gun violence in Birmingham was at an "epidemic level," adding he wants to "work with the state to solve this problem."

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at [email protected].