Markiezia Deactrius Atkins was 24 when she was killed in Birmingham, Alabama, during the early hours of Labor Day, September 4, 2023. Around 2:35 a.m., gunfire broke out outside the Aria Lounge and Restaurant on 5th Avenue North in the Smithfield area. Atkins was one of five people struck in what authorities described as a targeted attack that likely hit innocent bystanders.

As Atkins, 33-year-old Chaveda Arreaiia Willis, and a male victim were being driven to UAB Hospital, their vehicle was struck in a second, drive-by shooting just outside the emergency room. Both Atkins and Willis died at the hospital; the male victim suffered life-threatening injuries. Two other women from the original nightclub shooting arrived separately with non-life-threatening wounds.

The Birmingham Police Department has treated the incident as a targeted double homicide. No arrests have been announced and the investigation remains ongoing. If anyone witnessed the shootings at the club or the drive-by outside the hospital, or has information that could help, please come forward.