Inset: Kerry Jackson Jr. (Jefferson County Jail). Background: One of the scenes of his shooting spree in Birmingham, Alabama, that left two dead and two injured. (WVTM/YouTube)
An Alabama man went on an alleged shooting spree where he shot his father and murdered a family friend before putting a gun to his mother’s head and forcing her to drive to another home where he killed his grandfather and shot another family friend.
Kerry Jackson Jr., 32, is charged with two counts each of capital murder (2 or more victims and during a kidnapping) and attempted murder.
It happened on Aug. 8 in Birmingham. Police received a call around 4:45 p.m. for a report of multiple people shot at a home in the 1600 Block of Dennison Avenue. Cops arrived on the scene and entered the home where they found 49-year-old Laquita Dunn dead with gunshot wounds. They also learned Jackson’s father had been shot as well and a family member rushed him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
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As cops investigated, another call for a shooting came in at a home a few blocks away in the 1400 Block of 17th Place Southwest. Cops found two more people with gunshot wounds: Anthony Jackson, the suspect’s 76-year-old grandfather, and a woman, later determined to be the suspect’s longtime girlfriend. Paramedics pronounced the grandfather dead and rushed the woman to the hospital. She suffered life-threatening injuries but survived.
Cops arrested Kerry Jackson Jr. about five hours later at the Five Points West Shopping District with the help of the U.S. Marshals Service and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
A judge on Wednesday found enough probable cause to forward the case to a grand jury for a possible indictment, AL.com reported.
The suspect’s grandmother told police she was at the Dennison Drive home when she saw her grandson walking around with a gun and “acting a little strange,” Birmingham police Det. Kristopher Hatcher testified. A few minutes later, Kerry Jackson Jr. allegedly shot Dunn, a family friend, several times in the kitchen. Meanwhile, his parents were at the 17th Place home and received word about the shooting. They rushed back to the Dennison home and the suspect shot his father after he got out of the car, Hatcher reportedly testified.
That’s when Kerry Jackson Jr. allegedly put a gun to his mother’s head and forced her to drive back to the other family home where he shot his grandfather and his girlfriend. His mother ran to a nearby gas station for help.
Police have not released a motive but the family reportedly said that the suspect struggled with drug addiction and “snapped.” He remains at the Jefferson County Jail without bond.
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