On the morning of November 16, 2022, a tragic shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, claimed the life of 14-year-old Moriah Quib-Marquez, a Hispanic female. The incident unfolded around 8:10 a.m. in the 500 block of 80th Street North. Moriah was a passenger in an SUV with her family when a male suspect opened fire on the vehicle. Following the shooting, the SUV crashed into a utility pole.
When Birmingham police officers arrived at the scene, they found Moriah inside the vehicle, where she was pronounced dead. Her mother was also shot and sustained life-threatening injuries, requiring transport to a local hospital. Fortunately, three small children and another adult female who were also in the SUV were not physically harmed.
Moriah was a seventh-grade student at Ossie Ware Mitchell Middle School, where she was remembered as a bright and engaged student, active in both academics and athletics. Her sudden death was a significant loss to the school community, which provided counseling services to support students and staff affected by the tragedy. The incident was the 121st homicide investigation in Birmingham for 2022, drawing attention to the ongoing issue of gun violence in the city.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing a man firing into the SUV before fleeing. The Birmingham Police Department quickly launched an investigation and identified a suspect. Thirty-seven-year-old Bruce Lanier Austin was arrested in the 7800 block of 6th Avenue North in connection with the shooting. He was subsequently charged with capital murder, first-degree assault, and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. For the capital murder charge, Austin was held without bond.
