Nationwide — Demetrius Antwan Davis Jr., a 25-year-old African American man from Birmingham, Alabama, was fatally shot at a gas station Sunday night in what police say was a revenge attack tied to an earlier family shooting. His death happened nearly five years after his father was also killed at a Birmingham gas station.
According to Birmingham Real-Time News, Davis Jr. was pumping gas at a Circle K on Tallapoosa Street around 6 p.m. when someone walked up and opened fire. His vehicle was still at the pump, with the gas nozzle in place. Responding officers found him unresponsive in the parking lot. Paramedics later pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police identified the suspect as 51-year-old Byron Dedric Steele. He was arrested the next afternoon and charged with capital murder the following day. Investigators believe Steele was seeking revenge for a prior incident involving his family.
Authorities noted that evidence suggests Davis Jr. may have fired back during the attack. The shooting marked another violent incident in a city already reeling from a string of homicides. Davis Jr. was one of eight people killed in just over a week.
Officer Truman Fitzgerald said detectives believe the victims in recent cases, including Davis Jr., were involved in activities that led to them being targeted and killed.
“And that’s not to victim shame,’” he said. “We want to get the message out to the public that we have to be really mindful of our behavior because we have seen just the lengths people will go to target you if they have something out for you.”