Man, 2-year-old child die in drive-by shooting in US

Authorities say they’re looking for three people after someone in a vehicle pulled up to a home and opened fire

Police cordon off a shooting site where two people including a 2-year-old were killed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. — AP

By AP

Published: Mon 14 Mar 2022, 11:42 PM

Last updated: Tue 15 Mar 2022, 1:20 AM

Someone in a vehicle pulled up to a home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and opened fire with a rifle, leaving a man and a two-year-old child dead, authorities said on Monday.

Police were searching for three people who may have been present at the killing of Marcus Winston, 25, and the youngster on Sunday afternoon, said Capt. Jack Kennedy of the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. But no charges were filed and the three may or may not be suspects, he told a news conference.

Authorities did not release a possible motive or the name of the child, who Kennedy said wasn’t related to Winston. They said at least one rifle was used in the shooting.

Earlier, in a statement shared on social media, Mayor Walt Maddox referred to unnamed suspects in the shooting and said they “are not new” to Tuscaloosa police.

“The fact that the suspects are known speaks to our state’s broken criminal justice system,” Maddox said.

Authorities didn’t release many details of the shooting, which occurred at a residence beside a park. The shots came from a white, four-door vehicle that witnesses identified both as a car and small sport-utility vehicle with multiple people inside, Kennedy said.

“We had a vehicle drive by and fire multiple times into the front yard of the residence, striking two individuals who were outside,” he said.

Winston died on the scene and the child died later at a hospital.

Maddox said that based on his experiences, someone knew a drive-by shooting could happen. “Our humanity must compel us to do everything in our power to save lives,” he said.