‘This week has been a nightmare’: Birmingham family pleads for answers in killing of 52-year-old man

A Birmingham man killed when someone fired an automatic weapon through the back door of his apartment is being remembered for his love of family and his sense of humor.

Maurice Turner, 52, died one week ago today on the kitchen floor of his College Hills home.

His death has been a hard hit to those who loved and knew him best.

“It’s devastating,” said his sister, DeQuacha Fields. “It’s still a blur.”

“We can’t wrap our minds around it,’’ Fields said. “We don’t understand why someone would want to do this to our brother.”

“This week has been a nightmare,’’ she said.

North Precinct officers just after 1:30 a.m. July 17 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.

Birmingham Homicide July 17, 2024 — Birmingham police investigate a homicide inside an apartment in the 800 block of Jasper Road.(Carol Robinson)

Then, at 1:51 a.m., police received a call of a person shot.

Police and Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service arrived, and pronounced Turner dead at 2:03 a.m.

Turner, a father of two daughters and a son, was in the kitchen when the shooter or shooters opened fire through the back door of the first-floor apartment. The bullets shot straight through the home, putting holes in the front windows.

Turner’s roommate, a close friend of his, 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.”

No arrests have been made, and the family is pleading for anyone with information to come forward.

They gathered outside Turner’s apartment Wednesday with balloons, candles, hugs and prayers.

“’We’re here to get answers for our brother,’’ Fields said. “He meant everything to us, of course, and his friends.”

Turner, they said, was funny and friendly. He never met a stranger.

“There was never a dull moment with him,’’ Fields said.

“He loved so many people and he was all about NBF – which means nothing but family,’’ she said. “He was big on family and on bringing people together himself.”

For this to happen to him, the family said, is heartbreaking.

“He bothered no one,’’ Fields said. “We just have to get answers for him.”

The family said they want an arrest, and justice.

“It won’t take the sting away,’’ Fields said, “but we definitely need to know who, and we want to know why because we know he didn’t deserve this.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.