2012 interstate shootout
The 2012 interstate shootout was a spectacularly violent incident occurring on Interstate 20/59 near the 22nd Street exit in downtown Birmingham on November 30, 2012, involving the police security detail assigned to Mayor William Bell.
According to police sources, just before 8:00 PM, the mayor's official vehicle, a black Chevrolet Suburban, was traveling on 8th Avenue North to take Bell to his College Hills home following a YWCA Birmingham fundraiser at the Wine Loft.
While sitting at a stop light on the 300 block of 8th Avenue, at Little Five Points, a black Lincoln Town Car stopped at the light facing them caught the attention of the Mayor's guards. A passenger in that car was seen sitting up on the window sill, brandishing a handgun, which he then fired two or three times in the general direction of the Mayor's vehicle.
The officers reported the incident, along with a description of the suspect car, to dispatchers, then continued in the direction of the Mayor's residence. Meanwhile the Town Car U-turned and passed the Mayor's Suburban near 9th Avenue North at Arkadelphia Road. At this point the officers opted to begin following the suspect car at a safe distance, and proceeded to follow it onto I-59/20 eastbound. They witnessed a second burst of gunfire and remained in contact with police dispatch as well as responding patrol unit.
After a while, the Mayor's detail made the decision to activate the car's concealed light bars and sirens and attempt to get the suspect vehicle to pull over. The suspect car was seen maneuvering increasingly erratically before the driver lost control and crashed into the guard rail near the 22nd Street exit.
At this point, the Mayor's detail stopped their car, instructed the Mayor to keep down and out of sight, and approached the suspect vehicle with their service weapons drawn, shouting for the occupants to step out with their hands in the air. After the suspects began shooting from inside the car, the officers returned fire, wounding two suspects. Uniformed officers from the North Precinct arrived on the scene and ...