A man was found shot to death early Wednesday inside his apartment.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Maurice Arrinjuando Turner. He was 52.
North Precinct officers just after 1:30 a.m. responded to a Shot Spotter notification in the 800 block of Jasper Road.
The gunfire detection system registered 10 rounds fired there, which is off Eighth Avenue West in the area of College Hills.
Sgt. LaQuitta Wade said when police arrived at that location they did not see anything amiss or anyone in need of help.
Then, at 1:51 a.m., police received a call of a person shot.
“When officers arrived to that location, which was inside of a residence, they observed an adult may lying unresponsive on floor, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound,’' Wade said.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service arrived on the scene and pronounced Turner dead at 2:03 a.m..
His friends and family quickly arrived, desperately trying to figure out what happened to the man they said didn’t bother anybody.
Birmingham police investigate a deadly shooting in the 800 block of Jasper Road in Birmingham's College Hills area.(Carol Robinson)
The preliminary investigation indicates Turner was in the kitchen when the shooter or shooters opened fire through the back door of the first-floor apartment.
The victim’s roommate was inside his own room when he heard shots fired.
“The roommate stated that he was inside of his room and did not see anything,’' Wade said, “yet he heard something that sounded like fireworks and began to look around his apartment and noticed the victim lying unresponsive on the floor.”
One person was detained for questioning. That person, Wade said, is not the roommate.
The slaying comes just four days after one of the most violent days in the city’s recent memory.
On Saturday, seven people were killed and at least 10 others injured in two separate incidents including a mass shooting at an adult birthday party on Birmingham’s northside.
“Having seven murdered in a day and 10 injured is probably the most tragic day in my time with the Birmingham Police Department,’’ Police Chief Scott Thurmond said Sunday.
“There are too many families who have been devastated and destroyed because of gun violence in our city,’’ Thurmond said. “Everyone in this room, to be frank, is sick and tire of it and it has to stop today.”
Shortly before 5:30 p.m. Saturday, a Birmingham mother, her 5-year-old son and her boyfriend were shot to death near the entrance to Echo Highlands Park.
Roughly six hours later, four people were killed and 10 others wounded in a drive-by shooting at a private birthday party in northern Birmingham.
Police officials said both shootings were targeted but no arrests have yet been announced.
Wednesday morning’s slaying is Birmingham’s 91st homicide so far this year. Of those, eight have been ruled justifiable and therefore aren’t deemed criminal.
As of July 17, 2023, there had been 79 homicides in the city.
In all of Jefferson County, there have been 114 homicides, including the 91 in Birmingham. On this date last year, there had been 111 homicides countywide.
Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-7777.