In the early morning hours of April 28, 2021, the life of 21-year-old DeWarren Lovell Gibson was cut short in a burst of gunfire. The shooting occurred in a breezeway at the Hunter Ridge apartment complex in Irondale, a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama. First responders arrived to find Gibson suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to UAB Hospital, but tragically succumbed to his injuries the following day.
The investigation into the death of the young male, identified as a resident
of Birmingham, quickly led Irondale police to a suspect. Within days, authorities announced the arrest of Antonio Maurice Sparks Jr. in connection with the fatal shooting.
Sparks, who was 20 years old at the time of his arrest, was taken into custody and formally charged with the murder of DeWarren Lovell Gibson. He was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Jail, where he was held on a $75,000 bond. The motive for the shooting was not immediately released by law enforcement officials as they continued to piece together the events that led to the deadly encounter at the apartment complex.
