14-Year-Old Alabama Girl Shot And Killed Over A Facebook Dispute

A 14-year-old Alabama girl was shot and killed after a Facebook quarrel spilled over into a fight at a Birmingham park, CNN is reporting.

Police say that Kierra’onna Rice was among a group of teenage girls who were feuding on Facebook, for reasons that aren’t clear as of this post (a search revealed no Facebook account in the name of Kierra’onna Rice.)

The girls decided to take their dispute to a local park, where at least one planned to video record the fight to post on Facebook, according to WBRC Birmingham. Some time after the fight began, two black males, ages 17 and 19, began firing at the girls. At least one shot struck Kierra’onna Rice, who died of her injuries at a hospital.

The two youths were arrested and identified by witnesses as they were taken into custody. Their names have not been released to the media as of this post.

It is unclear what motivated the young men to shoot into the crowd of girls, due to conflicting reports. WIAT Birmingham claims that one of the shooters was dating one of the girls Kierra’onna was fighting; while WBRC claims that one of the shooters was dating Kierra’onna.

Two young males were also injured in the shooting; it is unclear if either or both of them were among the shooters who fired at the girls.

2 male gunshot victims are in stable condition. Deceased female victim confirmed age is 14.

— Birmingham Police (@BhamPolice) February 28, 2015

Lt. Sean Edwards of the Birmingham Police blamed a culture of street fights for Kierra’onna’s death.

“This was an absolutely senseless killing. Fights on the street are not fair and are extremely unpredictable. You’re agreeing to accepting the harm that may take place to you and others.”

He also cited the troubling trend of Birmingham teenagers getting a hold of guns.

“We’re starting to see a lot of teens armed and extremely dangerous. We are starting to see them become more violent. They’re using guns to solve their issues.”

Unfortunately, the trend of teenagers resorting to violence to resolve their disputes on Facebook, and other social media, is becoming far too common. Earlier this month, according to the Inquisitr, 13-year-old Anthony Diaz was killed in Chicago after shots were fired during a fistfight between his sisters and another group of girls. That fight, too, originated due to a Facebook dispute.

As of this post, police are still considering what charges to file against the youths who fired shots into the Facebook fight that killed Kierra’onna Rice.

[Image courtesy of: The Birmingham News]