A 23-year-old man was shot by Birmingham police after authorities say he pointed a gun at them inside an Ensley apartment.
The wounded suspect has not been identified, but he was taken to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Two West Precinct officers were dispatched at 11:40 a.m. Saturday on a report of a domestic disturbance inside an apartment at 2447 30th Street Ensley.
A father told dispatchers his son was armed with a gun, and they had been having issues with him lately, said Officer Truman Fitzgerald, and wanted him out of the home.
“He didn’t feel comfortable handling it himself because his son was armed,” Fitzgerald said.
The two officers entered the apartment and came in contact with the adult son. They tried to deescalate the situation, Fitzgerald said, and the son went into a back bedroom.
When the son came out of the bedroom, he was brandishing a gun. “We were told by several supervisors on the scene that he pointed the firearm at officers,” Fitzgerald said.
One of the officers fired on the suspect. The suspect was struck multiple times.
Officers also put out a call for all possible assistance to officers throughout the city.
The scene was locked down, and the wounded man was taken to the hospital.
The State Bureau of Investigation was called in to lead the probe, which is standard in shootings involving police.
Fitzgerald said the entire incident was captured on the officers’ body worn cameras.
“Both officers were extremely shaken up after this incident,” he said.
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