Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin releases statement after violent day

This has been a heartbreaking afternoon for our city. A half dozen families are in mourning.

That includes the family of one of our city employees.

That also includes my own family.

In two unrelated incidents, four men were killed by gunfire in Smithfield. And in Wylam, two people were found dead. One of them was my cousin.

My family is no stranger to the devastating consequences of violence. The pain never gets easier. This level of loss is distressing, unacceptable and cannot – must not – be tolerated.

But right now I’m not thinking about myself. I’m thinking about that employee’s family who now has an empty chair at the dinner table. I’m thinking about my cousin’s mother. I’m thinking about the other four families who are facing the unimaginable right now.

Even now Birmingham Police are working tirelessly to find answers, but they cannot do it alone. I’m confident that someone reading this knows something.

Please, I implore you, if you know anything about these incidents, contact CrimeStoppers at (205) 254-7777.

Justice cannot be achieved in the dark. The families of these victims deserve answers and the cowards who have such a reckless disregard for life must pay for their actions.

Pray for the hurting families. Pray for justice. Pray for us.