On a warm summer evening in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 17, 2010, tragedy struck in the 4600 block of Terrace S in the Central Park neighborhood. Nineteen-year-old Rasheed Ali Ward was talking with a friend when a car pulled up and shots were fired. Another man, Keith Orlando Hilson, had been in a verbal altercation with someone in the vehicle moments before the gunfire erupted from what was reported to be an AK-47.
Hilson was struck multiple times in the face and died at the scene. Rasheed, who was standing nearby, was hit in the abdomen. He was rushed to UAB Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries an hour and five minutes later. A third individual, the friend Rasheed was speaking with, was also wounded in the arm and hip but survived the attack.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the investigation was hampered by a lack of cooperation from witnesses. The surviving victim did not provide a statement to the police. The woman from whose home Hilson had exited just before the confrontation also did not speak with investigators. This lack of information created significant challenges for law enforcement in identifying a suspect or suspects.
Despite the initial obstacles, the case has not been forgotten. A reward of $20,000 was offered for any information that could lead to an arrest and conviction in the murders of Rasheed Ward and Keith Hilson. The community was shaken by the violence, with reports indicating that several families moved out of the Central Park neighborhood in the wake of the incident. To date, there have been no public announcements regarding any arrests made or suspects identified in the killing of Rasheed Ali Ward.
