Alabama birthday party turns into gun battle; more than 200 shots fires, two people killed, 11 more wounded
Published 2:24 pm Monday, January 9, 2023
A birthday party in north Alabama turned into a gun battle Saturday night, police said, when more than 200 rounds were fired leaving two young women dead and 11 more injured.
Madison County Sheriff’s Office investigators said Kaitlyn Jenkins, 20, and Quantasia Grant, 20, both were shot and killed after a fight broke out during a 21st birthday party held at Legacy Events on Highway 72 East, outside Huntsville.
Both fatal victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators said three of the 11 shooting victims are still hospitalized in critical condition.
Deputies have arrested two people who are charged with murder, Ashton Elliot, 20, and DeMarcus Thompson, 19.
Sheriff Kevin Turner said “multiple people fired weapons.”
Turner said more arrests are expected as investigators are actively searching for suspects.
“We have recovered over 200 shell casings that were fired at this event center,” the sheriff said.
Casings were found inside the building, in the parking lot and in the roadway nearby.
“Multiple calibers of handguns and different calibers of rifles.”
“We’re not going to stop until we find out everyone who was doing it,” Turner said. “We are not going to sit by and take this lightly.”
“It’s a tragic thing when you have young kids this age with 200 shell casings. It’s a tragic thing.”
Turner said he’s been in law enforcement for more than 30 years and it’s the biggest crime scene he’s ever seen.
“It’s a different generation out here right now,” Turner said. “These young kids that do this type of activity don’t have any respect for life whatsoever,” Turner said.
“What happened out here at this place, these kids don’t have any respect for life when you fire 200 rounds in an event center when you have over 100 people in it.”
“We’re very fortunate that we don’t have any more people dead in this event center.”