In the early morning hours of August 7, 2022, a gathering for a car exhibition in a parking lot on 2nd Avenue North in Birmingham, Alabama, turned into a scene of violence that claimed the life of 19-year-old Ja'Kia Winston. The event, characterized by vehicles performing burnouts and other maneuvers, took a fatal turn around 3 a.m. when one of the participating cars reportedly collided with another.
An argument erupted in the aftermath of the collision, escalating quickly and tragically into gunfire.
Ja'Kia Winston, who was present at the scene, was struck by the gunfire. Emergency services, including the Birmingham Police Department and Birmingham Fire and Rescue, responded to the incident, but Winston was pronounced dead at the location. In addition to the fatal shooting of Winston, four other individuals—two men and two women—were also injured during the shooting. Two of these victims sustained life-threatening injuries and were transported to a local hospital by a private vehicle for medical attention.
The investigation into the shooting led Birmingham police to identify a suspect. Shortly after the incident, 23-year-old Ronald Demetrius White of Bessemer was taken into custody. He was subsequently charged with murder in connection with the death of Ja'Kia Winston. Following his arrest, White was being held in the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on a $1,500,000 bond. The police indicated at the time that they believed multiple shooters may have been involved in the incident and continued to seek information from the public.
Ja'Kia, known affectionately as 'Butta,' was a mother to a young son and was remembered by her family for her love of singing. Her death prompted public statements from city officials, including Birmingham's mayor, who condemned the dangers of illegal car exhibitions and pledged to implement stricter penalties to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
