Friends and family gathered Saturday night to remember a 29-year-old father killed in a shooting at an east Birmingham apartment complex just three days before.
Keith “Big Keith” Hardy was shot to death Wednesday while in a vehicle at Monarch Ridge apartments. About 100 people gathered outside his Tarrant home, remembering better times and the man they said had a heart of gold.
“It’s hard right now,’' said Jeremy Williams, Hardy’s best friend. “He’d give you the shirt of his back. I know that’s used a lot, but I really mean that.”
“If you didn’t nowhere to go, you could go to his house. He’d let you stay there and eat,’' Williams said. “Anytime you go over there, you knew he’d be cooking. He was a big guy, and you knew he’d be cooking good.”
Hardy was a father to three daughters under the age of 10, and friends say he was on his way to see them when he was shot Thursday morning.
Birmingham’s 911 center received a call at 8:45 a.m. reporting that someone had been shot. Sgt. Rod Mauldin said there were also reports of gunfire in the area.
When officers arrived at the apartment complex in the 2900 block of Gallant Drive, formerly Valley Brook Apartments, they found a vehicle that had come to a rest after striking multiple vehicles in the parking lot. Mauldin said when officers looked into the vehicle, they found Hardy dead from a gunshot wound.
The preliminary investigation shows that Hardy was having a conversation with someone in another vehicle in parking lot. As the victim attempted to drive away, a passenger in the other vehicle got out and opened fire on Hardy.
The suspects fled the scene in a silver SUV. No arrests have been made.
Hardy went to Woodlawn High School and had worked a variety of jobs since then. “He was a hard worker,’' Williams said. “He was a man of a thousand jobs. If he didn’t have a job one day, he’d have a job the next. People can’t find work, but he’d always find work. He always got hired at good jobs.”
Williams said Hardy worked hard to provide for his daughters. “He always put his children first,’' he said. “He just had a huge party a couple of weeks ago for his oldest daughter. He’d go beyond for his children.”
Multiple people spoke about Hardy at Saturday’s vigil. “We got a lot of things out,’' Williams said. “We just need answers about why.”
He said he doesn’t know what caused the deadly shooting.
“He had nothing that his life should have been taken over,’' Williams said. “That’s why it hurt us so bad. He was the realest guy you’d ever meet.”
A GoFundMe has been launched to help with his funeral. Donations can be made here.
Mauldin said there were obviously multiple people at the complex when the shooting happened, and they are asking for any witnesses to help police. “If you saw or heard anything, come forward,’' he said. “Stand up for your community. "
Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
"gather" - Google News
May 17, 2021 at 04:54AM
https://ift.tt/3omRXOC
‘We just need answers’: Friends, family gather to remember 29-year-old father killed in Birmingham shooting - AL.com
"gather" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2Sqdbwp
https://ift.tt/2Yjhqxs
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "‘We just need answers’: Friends, family gather to remember 29-year-old father killed in Birmingham shooting - AL.com"
Post a Comment