STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN INITIATIVE – $125,000 IN REWARDS OFFERED

Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama partners with community leaders to find the clues needed to arrest the shooters of child victims. In just one week since the idea was conceived, $125,000 has been raised to launch a special reward fund for the child victims so that $25,000 is now being offered for information in each of the five unsolved shootings that injured kids.

On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced a new initiative with faith-based leaders, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama, the Birmingham Housing Authority and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives that they hope will bring the clues needed to arrest the shooters who still roam the city’s streets.

Frank Barefield, chairman Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama, said all tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and the rewards are tax-free. “We know there are people out there aware of who perpetuated these crimes against children,’’ he said. “Give a tip this week and get paid next week. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

THE CHILDREN

• Feb. 27: A 2-year-old boy was shot and seriously injured early Saturday, Feb. 27, when gunfire erupted in an east Birmingham neighborhood. The Birmingham Police Department’s 911 center received a call at 2 a.m. reporting a child had been shot. The child was taken by private vehicle to St. Vincent’s East and later transferred to Children’s of Alabama. The shooting happened in the 200 block of Boxwood Circle.

• April 4: A 5-year-old boy was among multiple victims shot on Easter Sunday at W.C Patton Park in east Birmingham. A 32-year-old woman – Areyelle Yarbrough – was killed.The other surviving victims were others ages 21, 17, 16, 15. No arrests have been made.

• May 18: Kaitlynn Grady, 8, was rushed to the hospital late that Tuesday night after she was wounded by gunfire on Birmingham’s west side. Police initially said the girl’s injuries were life-threatening, but she has since recovered and was at Tuesday’s press conference.
  Kaitlynn was shot in the arm and suffered injuries to her head by shrapnel. Her mother spoke earlier with AL.com about the shooting.
  The shooting happened just after 9:30 p.m. at 1412 Warrior Road. Kaitlynn was in a vehicle with her mother, father and sister when they came upon a crashed vehicle near the intersection of Warrior Road and Avenue N. The car was partially on the sidewalk with the airbags deployed.
• May 22. Three family members – a man, woman and child – were shot that Saturday night on a busy east Birmingham roadway. Birmingham police and fire medics responded shortly before 9:30 p.m. to the 8300 block of First Avenue North. The initial report was that five people inside a vehicle had been shot.
• June 5: A 1-year-old boy narrowly escaped injury when someone opened fire on the parked vehicle in which he was a backseat passenger at the Circle K on Roebuck Plaza Drive. The boy’s father, 25-year-old Joseph Robinson was killed, along with Rikki Christopher Bynum, 27. Another man was injured but survived.

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