Markeisha Gettings, a 42-year-old Black woman and mother of three girls, was looking forward to her 43rd birthday. Her father remembered her as his firstborn, and in the wake of her death, he vowed to be strong to help raise her daughters. Family and friends were celebrating July birthdays together on the night her life was taken.
On Saturday, July 13, 2024, Markeisha was at a party inside a privately owned nightclub and event center on 27th Street North in Birmingham, Alabama.
Police believe an altercation broke out inside the venue, and sometime after, at least one person drove by and opened fire from the street into the building. The shooting occurred just after 11:00 p.m.
When Birmingham Fire and Rescue Services arrived, they found a chaotic scene with multiple gunshot victims both inside and outside the club. Markeisha Gettings and her aunt, 56-year-old Angela Weatherspoon, were discovered deceased inside the building. On the sidewalk outside, first responders found 39-year-old Stevie McGhee, who was also pronounced dead. A fourth victim, Markeisha’s 24-year-old cousin Lerandus Anderson, was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injuries. Ten other people at the party were wounded in the hail of gunfire.
The investigation into the mass shooting led police to two suspects. Damien Laron McDaniel III, 22, and Hatarius Woods, 27, were arrested and charged with capital murder for killing two or more victims, as well as ten counts of first-degree assault. Authorities reported that McDaniel was a suspect in a string of violent crimes that occurred between July and September of that year, accusing him of being responsible for numerous other deaths and injuries in separate incidents.
A trial has been scheduled for Damien McDaniel in connection with the nightclub shooting. The capital murder charges against both him and Hatarius Woods remain pending litigation.
