In the late morning hours of February 18, 2016, a verbal dispute in a west Birmingham, Alabama neighborhood tragically escalated, claiming the life of 28-year-old Gwendolyn Ayers. The Black female was walking in the 1500 block of Second Court West around 11:45 a.m. when she became engaged in an argument with individuals inside a gold Buick LeSabre.
The confrontation took a fatal turn when Ayers was shot.
Wounded, Ayers attempted to flee the scene but collapsed a short distance away on 15th Street West, where she was pronounced dead. The shooting prompted a nearby elementary school to be placed on a temporary lockdown as a safety precaution. In the wake of the violence, law enforcement officials began their investigation and appealed to the public for any information that could lead to the identification of those responsible for the brazen daylight killing.
The investigation into Gwendolyn Ayers' death continued for nearly a year. In November 2016, authorities issued a capital murder warrant for a suspect named Lederrius Christian. The following January, Christian turned himself in to the Birmingham police. He was subsequently booked into the Jefferson County Jail and held without bond. Ayers' death was one of 109 homicides recorded in Birmingham in 2016.
