On a warm summer evening in Birmingham, Alabama, the life of 24-year-old Keith Orlando Hilson was tragically cut short. On June 17, 2010, in the 4600 block of Terrace S in the Central Park neighborhood, the sounds of children playing were pierced by the eruption of gunfire. Hilson had just left a house where his niece and her mother lived when he reportedly exchanged words with someone in a vehicle that had pulled up. Moments later, shots from an AK-47 rang out.
Keith Hilson was struck five times in the face and died at the scene. The hail of bullets also struck two other individuals. RaSheed Ali Ward, who had been standing nearby talking to a friend, was hit in the abdomen and succumbed to his injuries an hour and five minutes later at UAB Hospital. The third victim, Ward's friend, was wounded in the arm and hip but survived. Despite the presence of witnesses, including the woman from the home Hilson had just exited and the surviving victim, police received little cooperation in the initial investigation.
In the years that followed, the double homicide remained unsolved, joining the ranks of Birmingham's cold cases. By December 2013, a $20,000 reward was being offered for any information that could lead to an arrest and conviction in the murders of Keith Hilson and RaSheed Ali Ward. The community held vigils to remember the two young men and to plead for witnesses to come forward. The case had a chilling effect on the neighborhood, with reports indicating that eight families moved away from the area in the wake of the violence.
As of the latest available information, there have been no arrests made and no suspects publicly identified in the shooting deaths of Keith Hilson and RaSheed Ali Ward. The case remains an open and unsolved homicide. The families of the victims have continued to hope for a breakthrough that would bring those responsible to justice. Funeral services for Keith Hilson were held on Wednesday, June 30, 2010, at the Integrity Funeral Home Chapel.
