A 2-year-old boy was shot in the head and killed in Avondale late Saturday night while he was in a vehicle with his parents and another man.

Family identified the boy as Ron'Narius "Duke" Austin, who just turned 2 last month. "He went to sleep, but baby when he woke up, he was in paradise,'' one of his cousins posted on Facebook. "God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust His will."

"This is another tragic incident where a child has died due to the recklessness of adults with no regard for life,'' said Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper. "Our investigators are working hard to solve this case but it begins with figuring out what happened to start this shootout between the two vehicles. Hopefully, everyone will be forthcoming with truthful information so we can get to the bottom of it and bring the perpetrators to justice."

Birmingham police responded to the Avondale district just before 11:30 p.m. where they found the three wounded victims.

The boy, his mother and an adult male were all hit by the gunfire. They were found injured about 11:26 p.m. in the 4100 block of Third Avenue South. Birmingham police Sgt. Bryan Shelton Sunday afternoon said the male victim who was shot in the back was the driver of the vehicle. Duke's mother was in the front seat and shot multiple times in the arm.

Duke was in the back seat with his father, who was not injured.

The shooting happened at least a block away but they stopped next to the Chevron across the street from Avondale Common House. Officers patrolling the area- a popular night spot - heard what they described as multiple, rapid shots fired and rushed to the scene.

The two adult victims went to UAB, and Duke went to Children's of Alabama. The boy's father was on the scene holding his son when police arrived. Police said a gun was found in the backseat of the victims' vehicle.

Shelton said the actual gunfire erupted in the alley in the 4200 block of Fourth Avenue South. A vehicle with at least four people in it was at some point involved in a shootout with someone inside the victims' vehicle. After the shooting, he said, the suspect vehicle left the scene.

"It is not clear at this time what started the exchange of gunfire," Shelton said. "Information is still coming in, and at this time, we have no suspects or motive."

About two dozen family members kept vigil outside of Children's of Alabama. They said they had all been together at a family gathering just before the shooting.

About 1:30 a.m. Sunday, the boy's mother was brought from UAB's ER to see her son. Police and family said he was pronounced dead, but later said he remained on life support. At 5:30 a.m., Birmingham police said the boy had died.

"Our children, particularly at that age, are really vulnerable. Right now, a family is mourning and has to bury a toddler because of gun violence,'' Shelton said. "A big part of the investigation is to find out what happened in that alleyway that causes the exchange of gunfire between the two vehicles."

Duke is Birmingham's 62nd homicide this year. Of those, at least five have been ruled justifiable and therefore aren't deemed criminal. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 94 homicides including the 62 in Birmingham.

Just hours before Duke was killed, a man was shot to death in a Bessemer apartment. Police said there were at least four children in the apartment when the gunfire erupted, but none of the children were injured. A suspect was taken into custody. Bessemer police said they will not be releasing any additional information on that slaying until at least Monday.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Anyone with information in the Avondale shooting is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Tipsters to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and are eligible for a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.