Antonio Bernard Stoute, 45, a Black man, was shot on the evening of October 15, 2015, in the Midfield area of Jefferson County, just west of Birmingham. The gunfire erupted on Pinewood Avenue shortly before 8 p.m., and the scene quickly turned frantic as first responders and investigators converged on the street where he had been wounded.
He was rushed to UAB Hospital, but the injuries were too severe; he died roughly two hours after the shooting.
In the immediate aftermath, officials said there was no word on any suspects, leaving the killing suspended in uncertainty even as detectives worked to piece together what happened and why. Public reporting at the time described the death as a fatal shooting and noted the absence of announced suspects.
In the days that followed, preparations were made to lay him to rest, with services announced for October 24, 2015, at Liberty Faith Christian Church in Bessemer. His death left behind the familiar, aching pattern of a sudden loss—an ordinary night interrupted, a family planning a funeral instead of a weekend, and a community left waiting for answers that were not yet ready to come.
