In the late afternoon of July 24, 2022, Ricky Howard Hamrick II, a 39-year-old male, traveled from his home in Cleburne County to Bessemer, Alabama, with the intention of selling two handguns. The meeting, arranged through an online marketplace, was to take place in the 1300 block of 6th Avenue North. Tragically, the transaction turned into a fatal robbery. During the encounter, two suspects, described as Black males, opened fire, striking Hamrick multiple times as he sat in his vehicle. The assailants then seized the firearms and quickly fled the scene on foot.
Adding to the horror of the event, Hamrick’s eight-year-old daughter was in the car with him when the shooting occurred. Miraculously, she was physically unharmed. Residents in the area heard the gunshots and rushed to the young girl's aid, taking her into their home until police arrived. Hamrick was pronounced deceased at the scene, still in the driver's seat of his car.
In the wake of the shooting, the Bessemer Police Department launched an investigation, appealing to the public for any information that could lead to the identification and capture of the two suspects. Detectives determined that the suspects had approached the meeting location on foot. Despite the ongoing investigation and the pleas from Hamrick's grieving family, no arrests have been made in the case. To encourage witnesses to come forward, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama has offered a substantial reward for information leading to an arrest. Investigators have also sought information regarding a specific vehicle, an early 2000s maroon or burgundy four-door Toyota Avalon with a black front passenger door, which they believe was used by the perpetrators in similar robberies in the area.
