“Two separate fatal shootings in Birmingham Friday night marked the city’s 99th and 100 homicides this year. The first happened about 10:30 p.m. on the city’s west side. The second happened just before 11 p.m. on the north side,” reports AL.com. Birmingham hit 100 homicides a day earlier in 2020, on Oct. 28. In all of Jefferson County there have been 161 homicides, including the 100 in Birmingham. At this time last year, there had been 144 homicides countywide.”
The spike in violent crime occurred after Alabama lawmakers passed “Constitutional Carry” legislation earlier this year that made it easier for individuals to purchase and carry firearms.
Alabama has a statewide violent crime rate of 510 incidents per 100,000 of population, compared to a violent crime rate of 359 incidents per 100,000 of population in New York and 328 incidents per 100,000 in Massachusetts.