By Ramsey Archibald
Four hundred forty-six.
That’s how many people were killed in Birmingham over the last four years – 446 people with friends and families, hopes and dreams.
AL.com analyzed every Birmingham homicide from 2017 to 2020. Each case was different, with its own set of causes and complications. But many of the victims had a lot in common – such as where and how they died.
More than half died in West Birmingham. Nearly 90 percent were killed by a gun. Three quarters of them were young, Black men.
That 446 doesn’t include the 31 killings in Birmingham so far this year, including nine through the first 10 days of April.
“I feel a combination of anger and sadness,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “I’m sad because another life has been lost. I’m sad because another mother has to wake up in the middle of the night, crying out, reaching for her child she’ll never be able to talk to again. Never be able to hug again.”
“I tend to channel the same emotions I had when my own brother was killed… the same emotions when my nephew was killed,” said Woodfin, who lost relatives to gun violence.
The data
A national list ranking the American cities with the highest homicide rates put St. Louis, Missouri at number one, with a rate of 61 homicides per 100,000 people. Birmingham – a violent city since its birth – wasn’t included because the city didn’t report homicide data to the FBI, but in 2020 the Magic City would have ranked second on that list, with a rate of 58 homicides per 100,000 people.
Within Birmingham, some areas had far more homicides than others. The neighborhoods of western Birmingham saw the most bloodshed.
Birmingham is made up of 99 neighborhoods. Ensley had the most homicides of any neighborhood – 21 people were killed there between 2017 and 2020.
Most of these crimes – nearly 58 percent – happened at night. And most remain unsolved.
Birmingham homicides by neighborhood Total homicides, homicides per 1,000 people and homicides per square mile by neighborhood from 2017 to 2020.
Those 99 neighborhoods fit into 23 larger communities. The three communities with the most homicides over the last four years are all on the west side of town. They are Five Points West, West End and Ensley.
There were 57 homicides in Five Points West between 2017 and 2020 – by far the most of any of the city’s communities. West End was second with 45, and Ensley community, which shares a name with the smaller neighborhood, was third with 39.
Homicide data collected by AL.com shows the vast majority of people killed in Birmingham – nearly 75 percent – were Black men.