“They had a good spirit”

Family members of two men killed five months ago in a quadruple murder in Birmingham’s Smithfield community are still reeling from their crimes, and now the unthinkable has happened again.

They lost another loved one to gun violence in another mass shooting in Birmingham.

Stevie Andre McGhee, 39, was one of four people shot at a birthday party on Saturday that left 10 others injured.

McGhee’s first cousins, with whom he was raised as siblings, were Terrell Edwards, 38, and Kevin McGhee, 38, both killed in the Feb. 16 Smithfield quadruple homicide.

In fact, the gathering for Edwards and Kevin McGhee after their funeral was held at the same location where Stevie was killed on Saturday night.

“We’re devastated. We’re in shock,” said cousin Kawana Pollnitz. “We’re speechless. We don’t know which way to go.”

“We’re still under the bus from Kevin and Terrell and it just keeps rolling over our heads, our hearts, our minds,” she said.

The February mass shooting happened around 2:45 p.m. that Friday. Also killed were Talton “TJ” Tait, 36, and Cortez Ray, 32.

Edwards was a city employee who started in Public Works and moved to Parks and Recreation. He finished just 15 minutes before the fatal shooting, and his cousin Kevin McGhee picked him up.

Not long after, someone opened fire.

Edwards and Ray, one of whom owned a car wash, fell in front of the house next to the cars. Father-of-four Tait ran a short distance before collapsing on the side of a neighbour’s house.

All three were pronounced dead at the scene.

McGhee was taken to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

A suspect has been charged.

Similarly, family members believe McGhee had just arrived at the birthday party on Saturday night at the north Birmingham social club.

Birmingham Police Deputy Chief Rodarius Mauldin said police quickly began receiving calls of multiple shots fired at the birthday party.

When officers arrived, they put out a maximum emergency call for backup due to the large number of people gathered there. He described the scene as chaotic.

McGhee was found shot outside the scene. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:42 p.m

Angela Weatherspoon, 56, and Markeisha Gettings, 42, were found shot inside the club. They were also pronounced dead at the scene at 11:42 p.m

The honoree of the party was Weatherspoon’s son.

More victims began arriving at area hospitals with gunshot wounds – some transported by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service and others by private vehicle. Police initially said nine others were injured, but updated the number to 10 on Sunday.

Lerandus Anderson, 24, was pronounced dead at the hospital at 11:52 p.m.

No arrests have been made, and police and city officials have issued multiple pleas for anyone with information to come forward.

McGhee’s family said they were stunned.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said McGhee’s sister, Stenisha McGhee. “For the same thing to happen again, it’s certainly tragic.”

“I took it hard and I take it even harder,” she said, “But I have to be strong for my mom.”

McGhee is remembered for his kind heart and willingness to always help others.

“Stevie was everything,” Pollnitz said. “He was going to be there for everyone and try to keep the family together.”

“You’d drive across town to get your trash out of your garage and take it to the curb,” she said.

Pollnitz said McGhee was devastated by the deaths of his two cousins, whom he considered brothers.

“Stevie hasn’t been himself since Kevin and Terrell died,” she said. “He was trying to find himself because he didn’t know life without them.”

McGhee’s brother, Stedarrius McGhee, died in a motorcycle accident in 2013 in Pratt City, Birmingham, leaving behind a daughter.

Stevie McGhee and Stenisha McGhee have since helped raise her.

“He was a great father to her,” Pollnitz said. “He was everything to her.”

McGhee was a woodworker.

“He was the best cabinetmaker,” Pollnitz said. “And they could take a closet and make it look like a department store. With wood, it was the best.”

In the wake of the February murders, the large, tight-knit family set out to do even more together.

“Since Kevin and Terrell passed away, we as a family have tried to do things every two or three weeks so we have good memories,” Pollnitz said. “We can’t stop what the world is going to do, but we just want to be around each other for happy times.”

On July 4, the family gathered at Spring Valley Beach in Blountsville.

“We had a great day,” Pollnitz said.

The family were tickled as McGhee, known for his love of nice clothes, turned up with his beloved bag containing several changes of outfits and shoes.

“He was a fantastic dresser,” his sister said. “She would always have the nice outfit with nice shoes to match.”

“There was never a dull moment with him,” she said. “He was always smiling and joking.”

“It was fun and the life of the party,” she said. “He wasn’t going to lose anything.”

McGhee was always there for those in need, the family said.

“You couldn’t find a person who wouldn’t say, ‘He was always there for me. He always showed up for me,” Pollnitz said.

“They had a good spirit,” she said. “Nobody could understand what we go through unless they walk in our shoes.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.