In the late hours of a Friday evening in Bessemer, Alabama, an argument at the intersection of 24th Street and Berkley Avenue shattered the night's calm and irrevocably altered the course of several lives. It was shortly before midnight on May 6, 2022, when 48-year-old Warren Oliver 'Berney' Weatherspoon was shot during a heated dispute. The Black/African American male was rushed to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, but his injuries proved too severe.
In the early morning hours of May 7, 2022, at 2:47 a.m., Warren Weatherspoon succumbed to his wounds, his life tragically cut short.
The assailant, a 17-year-old male, fled the scene after the shooting. However, his freedom was short-lived. The following evening, the young man turned himself into the Bessemer Police Department. Authorities subsequently charged the teenager with murder, and it was decided that he would be prosecuted as an adult for the crime.
Warren Weatherspoon, originally from York, Alabama, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Warren Oliver Thompson and Frankie Mae Matthews Weatherspoon. He was raised in Cuba, Alabama, and was a graduate of Sumter County High School in York. Later in life, he relocated to Bessemer. A father of three, he leaves behind his children, DeWarren and Trevez Weatherspoon, and Cerriunna Jackson. His untimely death was mourned by his mother, siblings, and a host of extended family and friends. A graveside service to celebrate his life and honor his memory was held on May 14, 2022, at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Cuba, Alabama.
