Four people were shot on the highway near the community of Bush Hills Friday afternoon, according to Birmingham police.
There was a large police presence near Bush Boulevard on Interstate 59 west of Birmingham just before 5 p.m. All westbound lanes were closed while police investigated.
A woman was taken into custody. Police say the four people shot are also considered suspects because they were “involved to some extent in the initial incident.”
Police arrived on scene and found two of the people, two adult males, who had been shot, as well as two vehicles that had been shot up. Police believe the incident occurred because a group of people were following a car they thought was theirs.
“If this party saw their possible stolen vehicle, all they had to do was call 911. Our officers live for things like this, that’s why we do the training, that’s why we don the “uniform and bulletproof vest, to put on in these situations, but here you have someone who may have taken it upon themselves to take on a group, now you have a shootout on the highway,” said Officer Truman Fitzgerald said.
According to Officer Truman Fitzgerald of the Birmingham Police Department, the group had a car stolen in a nearby town in Jefferson County and thought they spotted it on the highway. After following the car, a shootout ensued in the middle of traffic on the highway.
We have such a hands-on mentality in our community where everyone wants to solve their problems right away.
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Birmingham Fire and Rescue confirmed two men were transported to UAB Hospital. Both men were seriously injured.
Two other men also showed up at UAB Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
This is a developing story and updates will be provided as more information becomes available.