3 charged in fatal Birmingham apartment shooting, more arrests expected

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — Arrests have been made in a shooting that left a woman dead, a man injured and property damaged earlier this week in Birmingham.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond announced that three suspects are charged in connection to the death of 21-year-old Asia Poole. The suspects are listed as follows:

• Justin Hendrix, 20, of Birmingham is charged with murder and attempted murder. He will be held with no bond due to the murder charge.
• Taylor McCloud, 22, of Fairfield is charged with murder and attempted murder. He will be held with no bond due to the murder charge.
• Ja’Niyah Hendrix, 19, of Birmingham is charged with first-degree theft of property (auto theft). Her bond is set at $30,000.

According to Thurmond, investigators learned a fight broke out between Poole and Ja’Niyah Hendrix at the Monarch Ridge Apartments at around 10 p.m. Tuesday. The altercation led to shots being fired among “multiple shooters,” leaving Poole dead and a man injured.

Thurmond stated that Ja’Niyah Hendrix fled the scene in Poole’s car. He also added that videos of the fight posted on social media as well as information from the Mountain Brook Police Department greatly helped in the investigation.

CBS 42’s Sidney Spencer spoke to residents at the apartment complex, who say that the past three days have been a nightmare.

Ariana Smith says seven bullet holes remain on her apartment walls. She and her son weren’t home at the time of the shooting but were still deeply impacted by Poole’s death.

“I feel like it was nothing but God who told me to go to the store three minutes before,” Smith said.

Alisha Garrett, who was at Monarch Ridge as shots were fired, says she and her family are now traumatized.

“We all got on the floor [when we heard the shots],” Garrett said. “Nobody has been able to rest. If we hear certain noises or open doors everybody gets scared. It’s just been too much and we’re tired, we’re tired.”

An estimated total of 168 shell casings were found at the scene. Nearby cars and apartment units were damaged by gunfire. BPD expected more suspects to be charged in the case. The male victim transported from the scene with injuries is not considered a suspect at this time.

Both Hendrix suspects were arrested by BPD’s SWAT Team, while McCloud was arrested by a different agency. All suspects have been booked into the Jefferson County Jail. The motive for the fight and shooting are still unknown.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting is asked to contact the Birmingham Police Department at 205-254-1764 or CrimeStoppers at 205-254-7777.

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