Police are John Caldwellinvestigating a quadruple homicide in Birmingham, Alabama. On Friday afternoon, officers were dispatched to a report of multiple shots fired and found four victims lying unresponsive on the ground near an open lot, the Birmingham Police Department said in a news release. All four had apparent gunshot wounds.

The four men were identified as Terrell Edwards, 38; Kevin McGhee, 38; Cortez Ray, 32; and Talton Tate, 36. Edwards, Ray and Tate were pronounced dead on the scene. McGhee was transported to UAB Hospital with what police described as life-threatening injuries and was pronounced dead there.

The police said they believe one or more of the victims were targeted. The four men were at a neighborhood car wash when an unknown suspect opened fire on them, police said. 

No one was in custody, police said, but anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Birmingham Police Department.

"It's really disgusting that these things continue to happen in our city over and over again and people have got to learn other ways to resolve their conflicts or come to some kind of resolution other than resorting to gunfire," Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond told CBS affiliate WIAT-TV. "It disturbs the whole entire neighborhood over here. It's just very disturbing for us as law enforcement officers trying to provide a safer city for all the citizens of Birmingham." 

The shooting has increased the number of murder investigations in Birmingham to 12 so far this year, police said.

In:
• Alabama
• Shooting
• Shooting Death
• Birmingham
• Crime

Kerry Breen

Kerry Breen is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University's Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News' TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.

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