Birmingham Safety Leaders Respond to Magic City Classic Shooting
By Gillian Brooks
Published: Nov. 3, 2026 at 1:23 AM GMT+1 | Updated: 6 minutes ago
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - Leaders behind community safety programs in the city of Birmingham are responding following the shooting that left one person dead and eight injured after the Magic City Classic on Saturday.
Response teams have been out in the community meeting with people looking for support, offering services, and helping them cope.
"Programs are meant to, in moments, prevent. But you’ll always have those programs that help you respond to unfortunate circumstances, and Saturday was an unfortunate circumstance," said Ryan Jackson, executive director of the Department of Youth Services.
Jackson and Uche Bean, director of Community Safety Initiatives, play a role in crime prevention for the city of Birmingham. They lead several initiatives aimed at safety and violence prevention.
"The violence that we’re seeing, it trends in different ways, and it’s different than it has been before. We’re gonna continue to pivot and make necessary changes that we need to face it head-on," Bean said.
"I think we need to focus in on how we all came together, and that’s how we need to stay. Come together, we’re not pointing any fingers, we’re going to support each other and we’re gonna be stronger after this and we’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to feel like they don’t have to fear for their safety," Bean added.
Homicide numbers are trending downward. Bean said she does not want the violent events that have happened recently to overshadow the progress that has been made.
"We’re responding, we’re active, we’re letting people know that we’re here. We are here and we’re going to continue to be here and continue to work because there is more work to be done. We’re not gonna stop until we are at 0," Bean said.
"Birmingham is home, and Birmingham will remain home. There’s some unique things that make up Birmingham. Birmingham"