On a summer morning in Birmingham, Alabama, what began as a verbal dispute at the Carson Crest Apartment Complex tragically escalated, ending the life of 23-year-old Zetarius Free, a Black / African American male. The incident, which unfolded on June 8, 2024, at approximately 11 a.m. on Carson Road, quickly spiraled from a heated argument into a violent exchange of gunfire between Free and another man.
Both men sustained gunshot wounds during the altercation and were transported by private vehicles to St. Vincent's East Hospital. Upon arrival, medical personnel pronounced Zetarius Free deceased. The other man involved in the shootout was treated for life-threatening injuries. The violence of the encounter also tragically affected an innocent bystander, an adult woman who was struck by a stray bullet. She was located at a nearby church and taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Following an investigation by the Birmingham Police Department, the findings of the case were presented to the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office for review. After careful consideration of the evidence and the circumstances surrounding the mutual exchange of gunfire, the District Attorney's Office ruled the death of Zetarius Free to be a justifiable homicide. As a result of this determination, the investigation was reclassified, and no criminal charges were pursued against the other individual involved in the altercation. This incident was recorded as the 59th homicide investigation in Birmingham for 2024, with five of those cases ultimately being ruled as justifiable deaths.
