Two firefighters were shot shot inside a Birmingham, Alabama, fire station.
Two firefighters in Birmingham, Alabama, were shot inside a fire station Wednesday in what authorities say may have been a targeted attack.
“The preliminary investigation has revealed that an unknown suspect(s) shot the two firefighters while the two firefighters were inside Fire Station #9. The shooting appears to have taken place near the bay doors,” Birmingham Police said in its statement.
Late in the day,Birmingham Fire and Rescue Serviceidentified the two injured firefighters as Jamel Jones and Jordan Melton. “Firefighter Melton is in critical condition and Firefighter Jones is in serious condition,” authorities said in a statement.
“Birmingham Fire and Rescue sends our thoughts and prayers to these injured firefighters, their families, and the entire BFRS family,” they added.
During anews briefing, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said information about the suspects and a motive is currently unclear.
“We are working on scene trying to see who are the individuals who are responsible for this particular shooting,” he said. “That’s something that we’re working through right now trying to just determine who those individuals are and what is the motivation for this particular shooting, which is information we just don’t have at this point in time.”
Thurmond later added, “At this point in time, we feel like it may be a targeted attack. We don’t know why it would be a targeted attack, but that’s one of the things we are trying to determine at this point in time. It’s extremely unusual for someone to come target one of our fire stations. And so we’re trying to see why would someone want to target one of those fire stations in Birmingham.”
Police identified the vehicle in connection to the incident based on surveillance footage,Al.comreported.
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Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin issued astatementabout the shooting Wednesday. “Our hearts are extremely heavy in the wake of the shooting of two Birmingham firefighters this morning,” he said.
“We ask for your patience as Birmingham Police continue their investigation. Know that we are using every resource at hand to find answers and justice for those harmed," he added.
source: people.com
