A suspect accused of opening fire outside a nightclub in Birmingham, Alabama, in September has now been charged with killing several other people in multiple shootings this year.
Damien McDaniel, 22, was charged with capital murder in connection with the July 13 mass shooting that killed four people and wounded 10 others. He is already linked to a September 21 mass shooting in Birmingham, where four people were killed and at least 17 others were wounded.
The shootings, which took place outside nightclubs, are part of a larger string of violence in the city. In addition to the two mass shootings, police believe McDaniel was involved in three other fatal shootings in August and September, resulting in the deaths of 11 people and the wounding of 29 others.
McDaniel’s co-defendant, Hatarius Woods, 27, was also charged with capital murder in connection with the July mass shooting, while more shooters were involved in the September incident, which is still under investigation.
Officer Truman Fitzgerald described McDaniel and Woods as responsible for roughly 30% of homicides in Birmingham between July and September, saying, “These individuals started back in July, and they did not stop from September… We often say on these crime scenes that we have a few select criminals that add to this crime and give Birmingham a bad name.”
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has spoken out about the city’s violent crime crisis, calling for state legislators to address the issue rather than simply adding more officers to the streets.