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A 17-year-old Wenonah High School student was shot to death Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017 on Second Avenue South downtown Birmingham. Police Chief A.C. Roper said the teen was shot while he was trying to buy a gun in a deal brokered on Facebook. (Photo by Carol Robinson)

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Isaiah Johnson

A young man died in the middle of a downtown Birmingham street Tuesday afternoon, despite intense efforts by Birmingham police officers to save him.

The shooting happened about 2:50 p.m. on Second Avenue South at 18th Street. in front of the Railroad Square office building. The victim was 17-year-old Isaiah Johnson, and was there to exchange guns and buy an additional gun in a deal that was brokered on Facebook.

They met in a nearby alley and one of the young men opened fire from a vehicle, striking Johnson. The suspects fled the scene.

"It is so unfortunate that some of our young people are making poor decisions and losing their lives,'' Birmingham police Chief A.C. Roper told Al.com. "For example, this victim and his group planned to buy a gun from this other group so they met in an alley. The transaction was coordinated over Facebook and the victim knew the suspects."

Johnson's slaying comes one week after another 17-year-old was shot to death. Juzahris Webb was gunned down while walking home from Wenonah High School last Tuesday. Johnson also attended Wenonah High and it appears the two were friends.

"The issue is not Wenonah High School which is a great school, but these kids carry their community issues to school with them,'' Roper said. " I feel like we are in a desperate race to save lives and the race isn't fair because we're trying to overcome all kinds of socioeconomic issues that affect crime and decision making."

"The issue of these young people resorting to crime and violence is systemic across the nation,'' he said, "but we refuse to allow it to become the norm in Birmingham when it should be the exception."

In Tuesday's shooting, nearby workers reported hearing two gunshots. Johnson was struck at least once in the chest.

Birmingham police officers, including an evidence technician, were first on the scene. Several of them gave first aid to Johnson while another performed CPR for a lengthy period of time. Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service arrived, performed an EKG and pronounced him dead on the scene.

"The odds were against us when we got here,'' said South Precinct Lt. David Rockett, one of the officers who tried to save the victim.

At least two of the victim's friends who were with him at the time of the shooting were nearly inconsolable. They told police the shooting happened during a robbery, and that three people fled in a brown car. They were taken to police headquarters for further questioning.

Earlier, at the scene, Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards had said that details were sketchy but it appears the victim and several of his friends met another group of people in a nearby alley.

"We're not sure who he came to meet. We know it was someone else in another car,'' Edwards said. "Some kind of altercation, some kind of engagement happened in the alley area."

After being shot, the victim ran out of the alley where he collapsed in the middle of Second Avenue South between 18th and 17th streets. "We're trying to determine what led up to this,'' Edwards said. "This is a very interesting location due to the fact that we have a lot of construction going on. We normally don't have something of this nature here. To have an individual in the middle of the street definitely has us puzzled."

Edwards said detectives were canvassing the area and trying to see if there was any video surveillance from nearby buildings. "It's obviously not a random shooting,'' he said earlier. "It's obvious this was a meeting place for the individuals involved."

He praised the officers who tried to save the victim, calling them "courageous." "We salute our officers,'' he said. "That's what we're called to do - save a life."

Multiple family members gathered at the shooting scene and were visibly emotional. Together they prayed, and one man kept shouting, "That's my baby."

After finding out more details about what led to the shooting, Edwards said this: "This is extremely unfortunate, the fact that another young person can invest the energy and effort into activities that are detrimental to their lives. Sad."

The victim is Birmingham's 11th homicide victim in 2017, and the seventh in one week. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 15 homicides so far this year.

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