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White House condemns Alabama shooting that police say killed 4, wounded 17 in alleged paid ‘hit’

Following the mass shooting in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday night, the White House issued a statement strongly condemning the gun violence, while police officials said the incident was a paid "hit."

The White House issued a statement Sunday, condemning gun violence after four people were killed and at least 17 others were wounded following a mass shooting in a popular Birmingham, Alabama, nightlife district Saturday night.

"Last night, several people were killed and many more wounded in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. And once again, our entire nation is watching in horror as another community is devastated by the national epidemic of gun violence," Stef Feldman, Gun Violence Prevention Director said in a statement. 

"President Biden and Vice President Harris join Americans across the nation in praying for the families affected by this senseless violence," Feldman continued.

At the direction of President Biden, Feldman said the White House is coordinating with federal, state, and local officials as investigations are underway into the shooting.

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"Americans should not have to live like this. And we can’t let it become normal. This year alone there have been more than 400 mass shootings which have traumatized Americans and torn communities apart. As President Biden often says: Enough is enough," Feldman said.

Two men and a woman were killed at the scene in the 2000 block of Magnolia Avenue in the Five Points South area near the University of Alabama at Birmingham, while a fourth victim died at the university's hospital, the Birmingham Police Department told Fox News Digital via email Sunday morning.

Police responded to reports of gunfire shortly after 11 p.m., police said.

Authorities identified three out of four of the victims killed by the gunfire. Police said all three died at the scene and identified the victims as Anitra Holloman, 21, of Bessemer, Alabama, Tahj Booker, 27, of Birmingham, Alabama, and Carlos McCain, 27, of Birmingham, Alabama.

The fourth victim is an adult male, who died at the hospital, pending identification, officials said. 

"Detectives believe the shooting was not random and stemmed from an isolated incident where multiple victims were caught in the crossfire," police said in the emailed statement.

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In a press conference Sunday morning, Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said he believes the shooting was "a hit," and that someone was paid to kill the targeted victim, while he added that the victim is among those who were killed. 

Police confirmed the weapons used were fully automatic and that more than 100 shell casings were found at the scene along with numerous other pieces of evidence, according to Thurmond. They also believe there were several shooters based on evidence. 

Authorities added that they are also working to determine who was the target of the shooting and will be reviewing video surveillance. 

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"I will say this, we, all of us as a community, owe it to the victims to do everything we can to take these shooters, killers, off our streets," Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said.

At this time, authorities say no suspects are in custody.

"To the victims and the victims' families, our heartfelt condolences go out to them. That's 21 people whose lives were forever changed, that's 21 families, that some are destroyed and some are just altered. Our hearts go out to them as we work through this," Thurmond said. 

Authorities are strongly urging the public to come forward with any information that could help lead to an arrest.

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report. 

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