BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A man has been charged in connection with a mass shooting outside a nightclub that left four people dead and wounded more than a dozen in Birmingham, Alabama, last month, police said Wednesday.
Damien McDaniel, 22, was arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the Sept. 21 shooting in the Five Points South entertainment district, said Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond. McDaniel is also charged with 17 counts of attempted murder for those who were wounded, the police chief said. Available court records did not show if McDaniel has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
“Today was a major step toward justice,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a statement.
Asked at a news conference if additional arrests were expected, Thurmond said he could only say that the investigation is ongoing. Police previously said that multiple shooters opened fire on a crowd waiting in line outside a nightspot. Investigators are still looking into the possibility that someone was targeting one of the victims, the police chief said. He declined to discuss a possible motive.
McDaniel is also charged in connection with two other fatal shootings that took place in the city over a three-day period in September. Three other people were also charged in one of those shootings.
“This is just one step in moving forward. There is a lot more to come in these investigations as we prepare for court,” Thurmond said.
The Sept. 21 shooting in the bustling Five Points South district unnerved the neighborhood and put a national spotlight on the city.
Anitra Holloman, 21, of the Birmingham suburb of Bessemer; Tahj Booker, 27, of Birmingham; Carlos McCain, 27, of Birmingham; and Roderick Lynn Patterson Jr., 26, of Birmingham were killed in the shooting.
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