A prayer vigil in Ensley Highlands for Rodriquez Ferguson, the 4-year-old killed Sunday in the cross fire between two men arguing over a cell phone, ended in chaos Monday night.
The vigil had just ended when dozens of people began running away from the scene. There were no loud sounds preceding the scramble. About a half dozen police officers, who had been stationed in the area quickly moved into the front yard where the commotion began.
A few people who ran from the scene said they only began running when others did. A few said the scramble began after a relative of Rodriquez got into a heated argument when another person.
During the vigil Rodriquez's mom talked most of the time, sometimes loudly about her son and wanting justice.
Rodriguez Ferguson (Special to al.com)
Rodriquez's grandfather, James Thomas, held large balloons, including the letter "R" and one shaped like the number "4."
The vigil also had a contentious start when Rodriquez's family asked reporters to leave because they wanted it to be private. The request came just after a press conference led by community activist Frank Matthews ended.
Several in the crowd, including a family member, said that Matthews had also been asked to leave.
However, in a Facebook post, Matthews stated he felt the family needed a private moment. "The great-grandmother of Rodriguez the 4 year old child felt the same," he wrote. "So I asked everybody who came with me to leave and allow the family and friends to have that personal moments."
Still, reporters hung around on the perimeter of the vigil.
Three Birmingham City Council members, President Jonathan Austin, Steven Hoyt and Sheila Tyson had also been walking around the neighborhood talking to residents before the vigil.
"No one asked me to leave," Austin said.
Austin said the city council has had a program for the past three years in which council members go around talking to people on their porches about issues they need addressed in their community. Monday they chose Ensley Highlands because that is where the child was shot.
Austin said that he was late and by the time he got to the house his two colleagues had already arrived. He said he spoke to the family, offered his condolences and asked them if there was anything he could do. He said he talked to the grandmother and great grandmother of Rodriguez.
The great grandmother suggested that police keep an eye on social media because she says that's how teens are meeting up for fights, Austin said.
Austin said he then left to catch up with Hoyt and Tyson.
Hoyt said in a message to AL.com that they talked to residents who expressed concerns about access to healthcare, job opportunities and crime. The police and fire departments also were along for the walk. Some residents wanted smoke detectors, he said.
"At no time were we asked to leave," Hoyt said of the Ferguson house.
Lynette Peters, president of the Ensley Highlands neighborhood association, said residents don't see elected officials in their neighborhood until something bad happens. She noted that it's election time next year for the City of Birmingham.
Peters said Rodriguez's great grandmother wanted privacy for the vigil. "It's time to find out who killed her great grandson," she said.
Rodriquez was playing on the front porch of his paternal grandmother Quisha Ferguson's house in the 3100 block of Avenue Q in Ensley when he was shot. He died at Children's Hospital.
Ferguson's house was the site for Monday night's vigil.
Ferguson described her grandson as a joyful, happy child. She said that he loved race cars and Ninja Turtles. Rodriquez was "a smart little boy" and attended a daycare program where he had many friends, his great-aunt said.
Rodriguez was a Head Start student at the Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity.
Birmingham Police Sgt. Bryan Shelton told AL.com that the preliminary investigation shows that those involved with the shooting knew each other. The suspect went to a home and confronted some adults about a cell phone that both parties' kids were arguing over, he said.
Both parties began shooting and Rodriquez was struck during the exchange of gunfire, Shelton said.
The suspect fled from the scene and police had not reported any arrests of late Monday afternoon.
If you have any information about the shooting, call the Birmingham police Homicide Unit at 205-254-1764 or CrimeStoppers at 205-254-7777.