On the evening of January 4, 2008, Evangelist Caffery D. Woods, a 49-year-old Black female, was fatally shot in Birmingham, Alabama. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m. as she sat in her SUV behind a duplex in the 7400 block of 2nd Avenue South. Woods was accompanied by her 88-year-old mother, Mattie Mae Woods, who was also shot multiple times during the assault but survived. An assailant approached their vehicle and opened fire before fleeing the scene.
Caffery Woods died in her car.
According to investigators, the shooting may have been a case of mistaken identity. They do not believe Woods and her mother were the intended victims, suggesting that the perpetrator had come to that location to harm someone else. Prior to the shooting, Woods and her mother had just returned from a grocery store. They had stopped at the duplex where Woods resided to pick up medicine she was scheduled to deliver for her job. Her mother recalled them noticing a car driving back and forth in the alley where they were parked, which made them nervous just before the gunfire erupted.
Despite investigations into the homicide, no arrests have been made in the case, and no suspects have been publicly identified. In an effort to generate leads, a reward for information was offered. In July 2008, Alabama's governor announced a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible. By January 2014, the reward had been increased to $10,000 as community organizations continued to advocate for justice for Woods and her family. The case of Caffery Woods' murder remains unsolved.
