A promising young life was cut short on the afternoon of Saturday, July 28, 2018, when Herman Gordon Jr., an 18-year-old Black male, was fatally shot while driving in Birmingham, Alabama. Gordon, who had recently graduated from Huffman High School just two months prior and was the new father of a baby boy, was behind the wheel of his silver sedan on the Elton B. Stephens Expressway. The shooting occurred around 2:15 p.m.
near the First Avenue North and Carraway Boulevard interchange.
First responders arrived to find Gordon inside his vehicle, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Birmingham police quickly launched a homicide investigation. Authorities stated that the evidence suggested the shooting was not a random act of violence or a case of road rage, but that Gordon was likely targeted intentionally. His death marked the 62nd homicide in the city of Birmingham that year.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, investigators did not have a description of the suspect or the vehicle from which the shots were fired. They appealed to the public for assistance, asking anyone with information to come forward. Despite the belief that he was intentionally killed, public online sources have not reported any arrests or the naming of any suspects in the years following the incident. The case of who shot Herman Gordon Jr. remains unresolved, leaving a void in the lives of his family, including the son who will never know his father.
