On the night of December 6, 2025, a family gathering in the Ensley neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama, turned into a scene of tragedy when 76-year-old Carlton Rufus Allen and another relative were fatally shot. The incident occurred at the Tuxedo Terrace apartment complex on 20th Place shortly before midnight. The family had come together earlier that day to attend the funeral of another relative, Jawori Brown Allen, who had been killed in late November.
Following the service, mourners gathered for a repast that was meant to be a time of shared grief and remembrance but instead ended in further violence.
Carlton Rufus Allen, a Black man known affectionately to his loved ones as "Uncle Blue," was killed alongside 43-year-old Sonny Arrington, who had traveled from Clarksville, Tennessee, to attend the funeral. Police reports indicate that an argument broke out during the gathering, escalating until a family member opened fire on her own relatives. In addition to the two men who lost their lives, a woman identified in reports as the suspect's sister was also struck by gunfire and sustained injuries, adding another layer of devastation to the already grieving family.
Authorities quickly responded to the scene and took 35-year-old Jasmine Renae Allen into custody. Investigators identified her as the niece and great-niece of the victims. She was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Jail and charged with two counts of capital murder for the deaths of Carlton Allen and Sonny Arrington, as well as one count of attempted murder regarding the surviving female victim. She is being held without bond as the legal process moves forward, leaving the community and remaining family members to grapple with the shock of losing three relatives to violence in such a short span of time.
