Five dead in Shelby county. Throats slashed...

***UPDATE BELOW***

Horrific news today, too close for comfort:

Five men were found dead at Cahaba Lakes Apartments in north Shelby County off U.S. 280 on Wednesday evening.

Shelby County Sheriff Chris Curry, whose agency was leading the investigation, said deputies were dispatched about 5 p.m. to check on the welfare of an apartment's occupants at the complex.

They found the men in the main living area. Their throats had been slashed and the door to the apartment had been locked. Curry said it hadn't been determined how long the men had been dead.

As I suspected (right or wrong, I'll admit) after the initial reports this morning, the victims were Hispanic:

Shelby County authorities are working to identify five Hispanic men found dead Wednesday evening with their throats slashed at an apartment in north Shelby County.

I immediately thought of the woman who was killed a few weeks ago in Pelham (also in Shelby County).  She was from El Salvador.  Now five more are murdered.

Although we do have our fair share of crime in Shelby County, murder is pretty rare.  Five men getting their throats slashed is unheard of.  Or at least it was. 

The latest tonight on the investigation:

A team of law enforcement surrounded and then entered a home along Valleydale Road Thursday evening, the latest development in an ongoing investigation into the deaths of five Hispanic men whose bodies were found in an apartment near Inverness Wednesday.

Authorities, including members of the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, the Alabama Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, entered the home at 6:36 p.m. to look for evidence after having surrounded the home for two hours.  There was no immediate word of any arrests.

The home is located a few miles southwest of the Cahaba Lakes apartment complex, where a swarm of deputies and agents continued to search for evidence behind the deaths of the five men.  The men's bodies were sent to the Alabama Department of Forensics in Montgomery for autopsies.  The Shelby County coroner warned it may take a while before identities and official causes of death are confirmed, though several law enforcement sources have said the men's throats were slashed.

Valleydale Road.  Folks, this is unreal.  We'd better wake up.  And soon.

***Update 8-22 7:40AM***

Sheriff's deputies have established an anonymous crime reporting line for anyone to share any information that could help in the case. Callers can dial (205) 669-9116 and provide a tip without giving their names.  Tips can also be submitted by logging onto www.shelbyso.com and clicking on "Report Criminal Activity."

Crime Stoppers is also ready to take anonymous tips at (205) 254-7777.  Encrypted tips can be submitted by logging onto www.birminghamcrimestoppers.org and clicking on the "Submit an Online Tip" link.

Also, according to a few comments, the house that was searched has been raided before.  This suggests the murders could be drug related, and the violent way they were committed suggests they could be gang related.  I've been concerned about possible gang activity in the area, especially MS-13.  I want to clarify that is why when I heard about such vicious murders, I immediately thought about the possibility of a gang connection.  My belief that the victims were Hispanic was directly related to that.  (I should have stated it better - or not at all).

Comments

[Scott Allan]

Where have you been???

[linda]

I thought the same as you and murder in No Shelby is unnerving!

[Julie]

Scott, My Dad's health is pretty bad right now so I've spent quite a lot of time at the hospital and now that he's home I go visit him every day after work. I'm trying to be with him when I can and also help Mom out.

And yes Linda this is unnerving. I hope the authorities can get this resolved, they must have some leads otherwise why did they go to the house on Valleydale? The outreach to the Hispanic community should get some results, there will be no questions about legal status and in this case I completely agree. Although I'm sure anyone with information has more to fear from the killers than from the police. Being deported is one thing. Being dead is quite another. Be safe, Linda.

[Don]

Julie, if it’s any comfort to you, know that your family is in my prayers.

There’s some talk, whether factual or not, about MS-13 being in Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile on the al.com Alabama Politics forum @ http://www.al.com/forums/alabamapolitics/index.ssf?initial=true under numbers 6652 and 6653.

[Julie]

Thank you Don. It most definitely is a comfort.

I don't doubt MS-13 is in our area. I remembered this "routine advisory" from Oct. 2007:

Local law enforcement agencies have received unspecified reports of possible gang activity occurring this weekend (October 13-14) in/around the greater Birmingham Metropolitan area. Potential locations include the vicinities of US Highway 31 in Pelham, Green Springs Highway, US Highway 11, and Airport Blvd. Affected law enforcement agencies are aware of the reports and are working to mitigate any potential threat(s).

MS-13 was not specifically mentioned, but it was here in Sept. 2007:

The FBI announced at a press conference today more than 350 arrests were made in a three-day operation that targeted gang and drug activity in a five-county area in Northeast Alabama.

FBI Assistant Director Kenneth Kaiser said the operation, called Operation Clean Sweep, was the largest and most productive he's seen. The sweep took place in Marshall, DeKalb, Etowah, St. Clair and Blount counties.

Kaiser said among the gangs targeted was the El Salvador-based gang "MS-13," which he said is a very violent gang. He said M-13 is involved in drugs and a number of other crimes. DeKalb County District Attorney Mike Odell said his county has seen a rise in MS-13-like gang activity among juveniles.

[Scott Allan]

I'm sorry to hear about that Julie. He's lucky to have a daughter like you. Go take care of him. I'll do some extra Obama/Biden bashing to cover in your absence.

[Julie]

Thank you Scott. When he was in the hospital in June (he came home and then had to go back, now he's home again) I printed the get well - and Happy Father's Day - wishes you, Don and Linda posted here. He got a kick out of that.

And thanks for taking up my slack! I made a comment to a friend the other day that I was so sick of hearing about Barack Obama but then had to backtrack (I would make a pretty good politician) when it dawned on me he is pretty much all I blog about!

[Scott Allan]

Julie! This is the final stretch run! If we wait until November we'll be too late. This is what the blogging is all about. We have a duty to take this bozo down.

[Julie]

I know Scott! There's a lot of work to do and we need all hands on deck. I'll try to do my small part to get the word out! Thanks for the reality check!!!