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Birmingham (AL) Homicides Drop by Double-Digits in Third Quarter of 2023

By Carol Robinson AL.com This is another installment in The Birmingham Times/AL.com/CBS42 joint series, “Beyond the Violence: What Can Be Done to Address Birmingham’s Rising Homicide Rate?” Click here to sign up for the newsletter. Birmingham finished the first three quarters of 2023 with a double-digit percent decrease in homicides over the same time last year. As of Sept. 30, Birmingham […]
The post Birmingham (AL) Homicides Drop by Double-Digits in Third Quarter of 2023 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2 years ago

December 5, 2023

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As of Sept. 30, 2023, Birmingham has recorded 99 homicides. There were 112 homicides at the end of 2022′s third quarter.

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By Carol Robinson

AL.com

This is another installment in The Birmingham Times/AL.com/CBS42 joint series, “Beyond the Violence: What Can Be Done to Address Birmingham’s Rising Homicide Rate?” Click here to sign up for the newsletter.

Birmingham finished the first three quarters of 2023 with a double-digit percent decrease in homicides over the same time last year.

As of Sept. 30, Birmingham recorded 99 homicides. There were 112 homicides at the end of 2022′s third quarter.

That is about a 12 percent decrease from this time in 2022, a year that had the city’s highest number of homicides since 1991.

Of the homicides thus far in 2023, one was an officer-involved shooting by an outside law enforcement agency and seven others have been ruled justifiable and therefore aren’t deemed criminal.

In all of Jefferson County in 2023, there were 140 homicides from January through September, down from 150 at the same time last year.

There were 160 wounded in non-fatal shootings in the city, down from 262 during the first three quarters of 2022. That is a decrease of 40 percent.

“It’s a step in the right direction,’’ said Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond. “It’s not what I would want. We still have a lot of work to do, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

The city ended 2022 with 144 homicides, the deadliest in recent history and only a few homicides short of being the deadliest in the Magic City’s entire history.

Birmingham police do not include justifiable homicides in their statistics because they are not required to send those to the FBI for nationwide analysis.

Police also do not include the officer-involved shooting by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in their homicide numbers.

Homicides In Birmingham, By The Numbers:

Black males continue to account for the majority of the city’s homicide victims.

One white male, three Hispanic males and one Israeli citizen, according to BPD statistics.

Sixteen women have been killed — 15 of them Black. There were 19 women killed in the city in all of 2022.

Guns were used in 88 of the slayings.

Of the known weapons, 58 were handguns and 28 rifles. Two other victims died by blunt force trauma, and some of the weapons are still unknown.

The West Precinct – which has the largest coverage area of the city’s four police precincts – led in homicides with 32. East Precinct had 24, North Precinct, 23, and South Precinct, 11.

The majority of criminal homicides – 42 – took place between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m.

The day shift – 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. – saw 27 homicides and the morning shift – 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. – had 22 slayings.

In the majority of the homicides, motive remains unknown. Of those that are known, six people were killed during robberies, and five each were killed in a fight, a domestic incident or in revenge.

Homicides With Juvenile Victims Are Down

The leading cause of Birmingham’s killings is the lack of conflict resolution, which has become a buzz term in violent crime discussions in recent years.

“People can’t get along,’’ the chief said.

The number of juveniles killed so far this year has drastically decreased.

Six victims have been ages 17 and under. There were 13 juveniles killed in all of 2022.

“We had a fairly big number last year and that number is down fairly significantly,’’ Thurmond said.

The chief said he would like to think that parents are becoming more involved, and making sure they know where their children are and what they’re doing.

“I would hope that would be part of it,’’ he said.

Here’s a look at the other age demographics:

– Ages 18 to 29 – 39 victims

– Ages 30 to 49 – 42 victims

– Ages 50 and up – 11 victims

“The age of our victims is a bit higher this year,” Thurmond said. “That’s troubling because those people should have enough sense to be able to get along or walk away or deal with those conflicts in a different way other than pulling out a gun and shooting someone.”

“I think people get so mad, so angry, they pull out the gun, but they don’t realize the ultimate repercussions of destroying two families, someone losing their life,’’ he said. “Even in situation where someone doesn’t lose their life, you’ve got those permanently affected for the rest of their life.”

“They have lifelong injuries to deal with, not to mention the mental trauma,’’ he said. “That doesn’t get focused on as much.”

It’s hard to explain the ebb and flow of homicides, and there are rarely definitive answers as to what can cause them to fluctuate.

“Violent crime has been our focus this entire year,’’ Thurmond said. “It was our focus last year.”

Joint Efforts Across Jurisdictions

One of the bigger things, he said, is the joint effort between the Birmingham Police Department and other area law enforcement agencies on all levels regardless of jurisdictional boundaries.

“We’ve been working together to fight violent crime,’’ he said. “That’s a huge thing.”

He pointed to the Areyelle Yarbrough case. Yarbrough was killed in 2021 Easter Sunday shooting at Birmingham’s Patton Park that also left five others injured.

Police officials last month held a press conference to announce an arrest in the case. Leaders from numerous law enforcement agencies were in attendance.

“It’s not about who leads what organization,’’ Thurmond said. “It’s about that we’re all committed to each other to violent crime regardless of what agency we lead.”

“The sheriff (Mark Pettway) and I committed to each other early to work together,” Thurmond said. “We’re looking for the same criminals. We’re dealing with the same people.”

“We’re much effective when we combine our resources,’’ he said.

The chief pointed toward the Violent Crimes Task force and its work on the violent street gang H2K, which has expanded into investigating other groups and individuals as well.

“It’s a force multiplier,’’ he said.

He said Birmingham’s officers are committed to the mission.

“The men and women out there in uniform are putting in the work,’’ he said. “They’re working hard and that’s a huge piece as well.”

VIP2 at UAB

There are other things in the city that are affecting those numbers, he said, such as the year-long pilot program Violence Intervention and Prevention Partners, or VIP2, at UAB Hospital.

The program provides violence intervention specialists who assist in the delivery of case management services, including meeting with survivors of gun violence, providing connections to social, medical and mental health services and monitoring survivors’ progress over time.

“It’s hard to measure as far as numbers, but I would have to think they’re having some impact,’’ Thurmond said. “If they prevented one murder, then it was worth it.”

It’s often said that police can’t stop one person from shooting another. The hope is to stop it before it gets to that point.

“You don’t often see someone go straight to committing a homicide,’’ the chief said. “Maybe there was another shooting that took place, like shooting into a car or a home or even shooting someone, and it’s solving some of those crimes before they get a chance to escalate to a homicide.”

Thurmond said a vast number of homicide suspects were involved in domestic violence incidents before becoming a suspect in a homicide. That, he said, is another way to get ahead of the curve.

“If we can be more effective in dealing with those situations, then we can the trigger pullers off the street before it escalates to a homicide,’’ he said.

“There’s no way the Birmingham Police Department is going to prevent anyone from shooting someone else. If that’s their mindset, that’s going to be hard to do,’’ Thurmond said.

“But if we can get them off the streets from other crimes, they won’t have the opportunity to kill someone,’’ he said. Thurmond said investigators continue to focus on, and rely on, technology to help fight crime, such as the department’s Real Time Crime Center.

“Getting more cameras throughout the city, more technology for our officers,’’ he said.

‘Three Months Can Make Us Or Break Us’

The highest number of homicides recorded in Birmingham in recent memory before last year was 141 in 1991.

The city’s all-time annual record for homicides was set in 1933 recorded when Birmingham had 148 slayings.

The lowest ever recorded was 56 in 1966. Birmingham came close to that with just 57 homicides in 2011.

“I know we can get there, to those years where homicides got down in the 50s and 60s,’’ Thurmond said. “That would definitely be a goal of mine.”

He said he can’t predict how the homicide numbers will look by year’s end.

“I feel very positive right now, but things can change very quickly,’’ he said. “We’re just going to keep working hard and pushing hard with the initiatives that we’ve been doing to hopefully stay at the decrease we’re at now, if not more.”

“Maybe we’ve figured out a few things,’’ he said. “Time will tell.”

Thirty-two people were killed in the city in the fourth quarter of 2022.

“Three months can make us or break us,’’ Thurmond said. “Hopefully we will be way below that.”

This article originally appeared in The Birmingham Times.

The post Birmingham (AL) Homicides Drop by Double-Digits in Third Quarter of 2023 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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May 3, 2026

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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