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WE’LL HAVE MORE ON THAT IN JUST A FEW MOMENTS. BUT FIRST, A RECORD BREAKING YEAR FOR VIOLENCE IS KEEPING JEFFERSON COUNTY PROSECUTORS BUSY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US AT SIX. I’M SHERI FALK. I’M GUY RAWLINGS. LAST YEAR, MORE THAN A DOZEN PEOPLE WERE CHARGED WITH MURDERING MULTIPLE VICTIMS. �������� 13 S JON PAEPCKE HAS BEEN CRUNCHING THE HEARTBREAKING NUMBERS FOR TONIGHT’S INVESTIGATIVE REPORT. THREE QUADRUPLE MURDERS IN ONE YEAR. PLUS 11 OTHER SHOOTINGS WHICH CLAIMED TWO OR MORE LIVES. NOW IT’S THE DA’S OFFICE. TURN TO BRING ALL THOSE VICTIMS. JUSTICE FOR BIRMINGHAM 2024 WAS ONE VIOLENT HEARTBREAK AFTER ANOTHER. 153 LIVES LOST, THE DEADLIEST YEAR IN THE CITY’S HISTORY. POLICE LINKED 16 OF THOSE VICTIMS TO ONE MAN, BUT DAMIEN MCDANIEL IS NOT ALONE. SO FAR, PROSECUTORS HAVE CHARGED 15 PEOPLE WITH CLAIMING 33 LIVES LAST YEAR. DOES THAT NUMBER SURPRISE YOU? YOU KNOW IT DOES. IT DOES. I’VE BEEN DOING THIS FOR 23 YEARS. I CAN, I CAN I USED TO SAY I’VE SEEN IT ALL. BUT IN THIS INSTANCE, IT DOES SURPRISE ME. JEFFERSON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY DANNY CARR SAYS THE SURPRISING STAT PRESENTS HIS TEAM WITH CHALLENGES. THERE ARE SO MANY MOVING PARTS. THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT CRIME SCENES, SO MANY VARIABLES, AND SO MANY DIFFERENT PEOPLE INVOLVED. AND A UNIQUE ADVANTAGE. YOU GET SEVERAL BITES OF THE APPLE, SO TO SPEAK, BUT THE REALITY IS EACH VICTIM IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE NEXT VICTIM. SEVERAL OF THESE CHARGES WERE FILED AGAINST SUSPECTS ALREADY IN JAIL FOR OTHER MURDERS. FOR EXAMPLE, MCDANIEL WAS LINKED TO A DOZEN MORE KILLINGS AFTER HIS OCTOBER ARREST. HE’S PLEADED NOT GUILTY. CARR CLAIMS THE ADDITIONAL CHARGES PROVE INVESTIGATORS DON’T STOP DIGGING AT THE FIRST ARREST, WHICH COULD SPELL TROUBLE FOR MORE SHOOTERS WHO BELIEVE THEY’VE DODGED JUSTICE. THESE CHARGES THAT ARE PRESENTLY PENDING, IT’S NOT THE END OF THE ROAD, HE BELIEVES ARRESTING THE CORE GROUP OF ACCUSED KILLERS HAS ALSO HAD A COOLING EFFECT ON BIRMINGHAM’S RECORD BREAKING CRIME WAVE. INVESTIGATORS HAVE LINKED THESE FOUR MEN TO SEVERAL OF MCDANIEL’S MURDER CASES FOLLOWING THEIR ARREST LAST FALL. THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF BIRMINGHAM KILLINGS PER MONTH HAS DROPPED 55%. I THINK, AS THEY SAY, YOU KNOW, THE PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING AND WHAT YOU JUST QUOTED. I DON’T THINK THAT’S A COINCIDENCE. BUT CARR UNDERSTANDS GETTING SUSPECTED KILLERS OFF THE STREET IS JUST HALF OF THE MISSION, AND CLAIMS HIS STAFF IS READY TO FINISH THE JOB. YOU KNOW, WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING A PART OF OF HOLDING THESE INDIVIDUALS ACCOUNTABLE FOR SUCH ATROCIOUS ACTS IN OUR COMMUNITIES. AT A RECENT HEARING, CARR’S OFFICE ANNOUNCED THE TRENDSETTERS LOUNGE SHOOTING LAST JULY, WHERE FOUR PEOPLE DIED WOULD BE MCDANIEL’S FIRST CASE HEADING TO TRIAL. LIKE CARR SAID, THAT GROUP OF 15 MULTIPLE MURDER SUSPECTS WILL LIKELY GROW. THERE ARE STILL THREE UNSOLVED DOUBLE HOMICIDES FROM LAST YEAR. STAY TUNED.