On the afternoon of Sunday, November 23, 2025, Birmingham police were called to the intersection of 17th Street Southwest and Laurel Avenue in the city’s Powderly neighborhood after a report of a person down in the roadway. Thomas Williams, a 64-year-old male whose race and ethnicity were not specified in public reports, was found unresponsive suffering from at least one gunshot wound.
First responders and the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office pronounced him dead at the scene a short time later, and authorities immediately classified the case as a homicide. Reports indicate the shooting happened around 2:00 p.m., and that a community member who saw Williams in distress was the one who called 911 for help.
Investigators later described the location as a dead-end residential street where Williams was discovered outside a vehicle, underscoring how sudden and public the violence was. Coroner officials confirmed his identity and notified the media that he had died from gunshot injuries at the scene, rather than at a hospital, which is one reason the case moved quickly into a formal homicide investigation rather than being treated as a suspicious death pending further medical evaluation. Birmingham police urged anyone who had seen or heard anything in the area that afternoon to contact detectives or reach out anonymously through Crime Stoppers, emphasizing that even small details about people or vehicles in the vicinity could be important.
Within hours of the killing, detectives and the department’s Crime Reduction Team identified a suspect and moved to make an arrest. According to multiple local news outlets, officers arrested 64-year-old Bonita Brown in the 200 block of 73rd Street North, several miles from the crime scene, without incident. She was charged with murder in connection with Williams’s death and booked into the Jefferson County Jail, where authorities stated she would be held without bond. Police have not publicly detailed a specific motive, nor have they released a full narrative of what led up to the shooting, but there has been no indication from officials that they are seeking additional suspects, suggesting investigators believe Brown is the only person directly responsible for the gunfire. The case remains under active investigation as detectives continue to gather witness statements and other evidence.
Beyond the bare facts of the crime, tributes shared on an online gun-violence memorial page portray Williams as far more than a case number in a yearly homicide tally. Friends and loved ones describe him there as friendly and lighthearted, with a good sense of humor and a fondness for collectibles. The same memorial notes that he had served in the U.S. Army and attended Wenonah, details that hint at a life rooted in both military service and local community ties. Dozens of virtual candles have been lit in his memory, with commenters using the space to express grief, remember his personality, and call for an end to the kind of violence that claimed his life on that November afternoon in Birmingham.
