In the early evening of Tuesday, April 1, 2025, a grim discovery was made in the 1100 block of Avenue F in Birmingham, Alabama. Responding to a 'Person Shot' call at approximately 7:00 PM, officers from the West Precinct found 42-year-old Stephen Kemp inside a vehicle, suffering from a gunshot wound. Kemp, a white male from the nearby city of Irondale, was quickly transported by Birmingham Fire and Rescue to UAB Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Despite the efforts of medical staff, he later succumbed to his wounds, marking the city's 20th murder investigation of the year.
The initial felony assault investigation swiftly escalated to a homicide case following Kemp's death. Detectives with the Birmingham Police Department's Homicide Unit, in collaboration with the Crime Reduction Team, began an intensive investigation, which included a thorough canvas of the neighborhood where the shooting occurred. Their efforts quickly bore fruit, leading them to identify 22-year-old Demetrius Henry, a Black male from Birmingham, as the primary suspect in the case.
Just two days after the fatal shooting, on Thursday, April 3, 2025, the Birmingham Police Department's Crime Reduction Team and Tactical Unit located and apprehended Henry at an apartment complex on Beacon Parkway. Following the arrest, investigators presented their case to the Jefferson County Magistrate's Office, which resulted in a warrant for Capital Murder with a robbery specification being issued against Henry. He was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Jail and is being held without bond.
