Gunshots fired every 76 seconds in Birmingham July 4
(Photo by Clinton & Charles Robinson via flickr.com)
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Police begged and warned and pleaded with Birmingham residents not to fire guns into the air to celebrate the Fourth of July.
But Birminghamians fired away. In fact, a shot was fired every 76 seconds, according to the city's ShotSpotter.
The Birmingham Police Department's ShotSpotter system, which detects shots and triangulates the location, recorded 1,127 incidents of gunfire between midnight Wednesday and midnight Thursday, said police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr.
The number of shots recorded this year is slightly up from last year, when 1,098 shots were detected. ShotSpotter picked up 75 gunshots on the Fourth of July in 2011, and 495 in 2010.
The system distinguishes between gunfire and firecrackers. This year, it detected 1,972 incidents of firecrackers or fireworks, which are illegal in the city.
Last year, ShotSpotter recorded 2,570 incidents of firecrackers or fireworks. In 2011 it recorded 170 fireworks and 9,271 in 2010.
Police got 167 calls for service on gunfire, Williams said, and responded overall to 2,324 calls for service in the 24-hour holiday period.
Williams said one person was shot in the arm in the 1500 block of 34th Street Ensley about midnight, but that injury wasn't life threatening. A suspect is in custody in connection with that shooting, which police said they don't believe was the result of celebratory gunfire.
Bessemer police said they received 10 reports of shots fired, and 21 reports of fireworks. Sgt. Perry Hurst said that is far fewer than last year, with shots fired calls being around 30 and fireworks calls around 50.
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