In the Ensley community of Birmingham, Alabama, on the afternoon of March 27, 2024, a verbal dispute in the parking lot of a local business escalated into a fatal exchange of gunfire. Just before 4:30 p.m., police responded to a report of a person shot at 900 20th Street, where they discovered 25-year-old Quintez Deshawn Ladd unresponsive on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound.
Emergency services transported Ladd to UAB Hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries later that evening. Investigations revealed that Ladd and another adult male were involved in an altercation that led to both individuals exchanging gunfire. The other man sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital by a private vehicle.
After a thorough review of the incident, the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office determined that the shooting was justifiable. This decision was based on evidence indicating that both men were armed and actively engaged in the shootout. Consequently, no criminal charges were filed against the other individual involved in the incident. Ladd's death was one of several homicides in Birmingham that year, with the police department reporting 31 murders up to that point, four of which were classified as justifiable.
