Brandon Montez McIlwain, 35, was fatally shot while visiting a friend at an apartment in the 2200 block of Rime Village Drive in Hoover, Alabama, on the evening of December 24, 2024. The weapon discharged multiple times; at least two rounds struck McIlwain. A 911 call came in at 10:59 PM. Officers and paramedics found McIlwain with a serious gunshot wound, and he was transported to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced deceased.

The other person involved was identified as 29-year-old Anthony Keith Russell of Birmingham. Russell was detained at the scene and later charged with murder after the case was presented to the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. He was held in the Hoover City Jail pending transfer to the Jefferson County Jail. This was reported as Hoover’s first non-traffic homicide in over two years.

If anyone was at the Rime Village Drive apartment that night or has information about the altercation, please come forward.