Shooting kills police officer in Alabama
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — One Birmingham police sergeant was killed and another officer critically wounded early Sunday morning in a shooting as they questioned two people suspected of trying to break into cars in Alabama’s largest city.
Two suspects are in custody, one of whom was shot and is receiving medical treatment, officials said.
Police identified the officer who was fatally shot as Sgt. Wytasha Carter, 44, who had been with the department since 2011. They haven’t released the names of the wounded officer or the suspects.
Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith said the officers approached the two suspects just before 2 a.m. outside a nightclub in downtown Birmingham, after a plainclothes officer spotted one checking door handles on cars parked outside the venue. Smith said one suspect opened fire after being confronted by the officers.
“This is one of the roughest hours of your career,” Smith said at a news conference, according to local media reports. “There’s not a chief, not an officer that ever wants to have to deal with this. This is a very difficult thing for the family, very difficult for the department.”