Man, woman and child found shot dead in car near Birmingham park

A child was among three people killed in a hail of gunfire near a Birmingham park on Saturday.

The shots were fired shortly before 5:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of Indian Summer Drive on the city’s east side.

The shooting took place at or near the entrance to Echo Highlands Park in the Echo Highlands neighborhood, which is located on Winewood Road.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said police initially received a 911 call about a crash. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a sedan in front of a home near the park.

It appeared to have jumped a curb and stopped in front of the house. Police said the car was riddled with bullet holes.

Officers found a man, a woman and a school-aged child inside the vehicle. They were a mother and her son, as well as the mother’s boyfriend.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the boy appeared to be no more than 7 or 8 years old.

“We believe some type of interaction occurred between the occupants of the victims’ vehicle and the suspects’ vehicle,’’ Fitzgerald said.

Witnesses told police they believe the shooter or shooters fled in another vehicle. Most of the shell casings were in the park’s parking area.

Family members rushed to the scene, visibly distraught.

“Anytime we have a homicide, it affects us,” Fitzgerald said. “But when you have a child, it affects you differently.”

“In this case, we have a young child, school-age, who has been caught up in the violence that is happening in our city,” he said. “We have to ask the question, ‘When will enough be enough?’”

“We have to get to the bottom of this immediately,” he said.

The victims are the city’s 83rd, 84th and 85th homicides so far this year. Of those, eight were deemed justifiable and therefore not considered criminal.

Across Jefferson County, there were 108 homicides, including the 85 in Birmingham.

Police said they need the public’s help.

“There’s only one way in and one way out,” Fitzgerald said. “Somebody saw something, somebody heard something.”

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