A man wanted for double murder in a dispute over a dog wounded four Alabama SWAT team cops before he was killed in a gun battle with police, according to a local report.
The gunman opened fire on a man and woman during a squabble early Sunday at Brother Bryan Park at 10th Avenue South and Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard in Birmingham, AL.com reported.
The victims were walking a dog at the time of the incident, and a pooch was mentioned during the dispute, according to the report.
The male victim, described as a local transient, was pronounced dead on the sidewalk, and the woman, found in the street, was taken to UAB Hospital, where she died before noon, the outlet reported.
The suspect and the female victim had been dating, according to the report.
Officers managed to track the suspect — who has not been publicly identified — to an apartment complex. SWAT team officers showed up around 1 p.m. and “were immediately met by gunfire,” Sgt. Rod Mauldin told the outlet.
They returned fire, fatally shooting the suspect.
Two of the officers were shot in their “lower extremities” and had been treated and released by Sunday night, according to Mauldin. Two more were grazed by gunfire and treated on scene.
“The events that unfolded today exemplify the risks that the men and women of the Birmingham Police Department assume every day,” Public Safety Chairman Hunter Williams said, according to the report.
“Now more than ever, we need to rally around our department and officers, who are putting their lives on the line in what is often a thankless job to protect the citizens of Birmingham,” Williams said. “I am extremely grateful that the officers will survive their injuries, and hope the community will continue to support them — and all our officers.”
It was unclear whether the dog had been found.
The incident came less than a week after a Texas man allegedly shot and killed two sheriff’s deputies who were trying to catch a dog in his yard — after he warned them he would open fire if they didn’t get off his property.
Four Birmingham police officers were wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a double murder suspect, who was killed on May 16, 2021. WZDXJeffrey Nicholas, 28, allegedly fired the shots at Concho County deputies Stephen Jones and Samuel Leonard on Monday night in Eden, about 20 miles southwest of Dallas, authorities said.
Nicholas was booked on two charges of capital murder of a peace officer.
