Tishaun Johnson

A Birmingham teen has been charged in the shooting death of another young man outside AutoZone in broad daylight last month.

Birmingham police today announced the murder charge against 17-year-old Tishaun Johnson. He is charged in the Aug. 22 slaying of Chancey Harper, a 20-year-old man who police had worked with and tried to help turn his life around.

The shooting happened that Monday afternoon in the 700 block of Huffman Road, not far from Huffman High School which had just let out for the day when the gunfire erupted. An officer working an extra job in a nearby shopping center heard gunfire and notified the dispatcher of the police radio at 3:52 p.m. The officer was heard on the radio yelling, "Shots fired. Shots fired."

When they arrived on the scene, Harper was dead in the store parking lot. Hundreds, including Harper's parents, gathered at the scene. "Somebody out here showed me pictures of my son's body on Facebook, said Chancey Harper Sr. "They do that now. They don't value life anymore."

Birmingham police spokesman Lt. Sean Edwards today said investigators worked the crowd that day, and were given a few names and nicknames of a possible suspect. They were able to track that down, as well as additional information, which ultimately led to the murder warrant being issued against Johnson on Friday, Sept. 9.

The department's Crime Reduction Team then set out to find and arrest Johnson. He was taken into custody today, Edwards said.

The victim, Harper, previously attended Huffman High School but was last registered in the 2012-2013 school year and didn't appear to graduate. Johnson also had attended Huffman High School, but withdrew after Edwards said the two weren't friends.

Detectives believe the shooting happened with Johnson saw Harper engaged in some time of verbal altercation with one of Johnson's friends. "He took it upon himself to confront Chancey, some words were exchanged and he pulled a firearm and started shooting,'' Edwards said.

Harper had previously been shot, and he'd served time in prison for armed robbery. He was identified by Birmingham police as a high-risk for homicide and they tried to get him to take part in their Violence Reduction Initiative. The National Network for Safe Communities initiative works on the premise that readily identifiable groups of people commit the majority of homicides, shootings and other violent crimes. They don't call them gangs, because traditionally the term gang refers to organized groups of criminals with a specific money-making purpose. The loosely-organized street groups, experts say, often become the victims of the same violent crimes they carry out.

The program holds quarterly "call-ins," which are meetings with the young men identified as high-risk for homicide. Influential community members and social service workers talk directly with the young men about the need for the violence to stop in hopes they will take that message back to the rest of their group members. The message is simple: If you mess up, you are going to jail and so are your friends and associates. But if you don't, if you try to do better, all those law enforcement agencies will lend their power and authority to help you succeed and lead a better life.

In addition to the "call-ins," authorities offer a variety of services, and make home visits as they did in the case of Harper. "We went to meet with him because we were concerned about him being at risk for a homicide,'' said Jarralynee Agee, a VRI leader who is now the director of the mayor's Office of Violence Reduction. "We met with him and his mother and talked at length. We told him, 'We don't want you to be shot, we don't want your friends shot. If you feel in danger, call us."

"Every homicide is tragic but this one hurt even more because Chancey and I talked face to face,'' Roper, who met with Harper, his mother and his stepfather, told AL.com. "After visiting in the house, Chancey and I walked outside for a private conversation where he looked me in the eye and said, 'Chief, I'm going to change my life for you.' While standing in the yard, we hugged and took a picture together."

Johnson is being held on $75,000 bond. "Looking at this picture of him (mugshot), it's just senseless,'' Edwards said. "He's 17 and the victim is 20. If these guys would stop and think a minute before using a firearm to end someone's life. Two young lives, two families are destroyed."