Birmingham man, 45, accused of shooting 2 people, kidnapping 7-year-old in Bessemer

A 45-year-old man has been arrested in the shootings of two people and the kidnapping of a child in Bessemer last week.

Demetrice Alphonzo Smith is charged with first-degree domestic violence, attempted murder, second-degree kidnapping, first-degree burglary, discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling and menacing.

The shooting happened at 5:54 a.m. Thursday at a home in the 1300 block of Fairfax Avenue.

Bessemer Police Detective. Justin Burmeister said officers arrived and found the two victims – a man and a woman – injured. Both were able to speak to police at the scene before being transported to hospital.

They are recovering.

While officers were on scene, a citizen found the woman's 7-year-old daughter two blocks away. The child was returned to the residence and is with other family members.

Initially, investigators were unsure whether the child had been taken or had run away from the home when the shooting began, but Burmeister said they determined the child had been taken by the suspect.

The suspect is not the child's father, he said.

Authorities have not released the motive or the relationship between the suspect and the victims. The female victim knows the suspect.

Smith was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 10:14 a.m. Monday. His bonds total $123,000.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call police at 205-481-4366, 425-2411, the tip line at 205-428-3541 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.