‘Put the guns down’: Sister grieves brother killed in Birmingham mass shooting

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — When asked to describe Stevie McGhee, his sister Stenisha remembers him as a loving and compassionate man.

“He was always making people laugh,” Stenisha said. “He was the life of the party.”

The memories of time spent with her big brother are now bittersweet, as the 39-year-old was among the four victims killed during a mass shooting in Birmingham on Saturday.

Stenisha says Stevie had moved back to Birmingham in 2013. The two siblings were helping raise their younger brother’s daughter after he was killed in a motorcycle crash.

“We’ve been raising his daughter that he never got a chance to see,” she explained. “We were co-parenting.”

Stevie was attending a friend’s birthday party at an event center next to the Nest nightclub in north Birmingham moments before the shooting. First responders found McGhee lying on the sidewalk outside.

Police believe an altercation took place inside and someone drove by later, firing shots from the street into the building. Mayor Randall Woodfin spoke on the phone calls he’s made to victims’ families during Tuesday’s City Council meeting.

“Those are always tough calls,” Woodfin said. “The pain in their voice, the tears, and in most cases not even sure what to say.”

As she plans for her brother’s funeral, Stenisha says it’s important to pay attention to your surroundings and what’s going on around you. She offers this advice to others.

“Put the guns down, talk about it. It’s not that deep,” she said. “Love your people, hold onto them, hug them and just keep the faith and keep God first.”

Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.

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