The wife and children of Erwin Jones planned to spend Father's Day loving on the man who they said always loved on them, and everyone else.
Deandrea Johnson, Jones' wife and the mother of three of his four children, said they had multiple outings planned for Sunday, including going out to eat and then to an indoor jumping facility where "Dads jump free" in honor of Father's Day.
Instead, Johnson on Sunday stood in the spot where her 30-year-old husband was killed Saturday night, shot in the back of the head while he sat on a bench outside Rickwood Apartments where he was about to fix his kids' bicycles.
"Erwin wasn't just a father to our three kids, he was a father to many children around here,'' Johnson said. "Erwin was all about family. Erwin always tried to make sure they stayed in school, stayed out of the streets, told them don't cuss in front of old folks. '
He would say, "Have some respect, not just for yourself but for your neighborhood,'' she said. "Erwin always was a positive influence. "
Birmingham police responded to the report of a shooting at the Rickwood Apartments near the corner of 12th Court West and 12th Street West about a block from the historic Rickwood Field at around 6:43 p.m. Saturday.
Birmingham police Lt. Sean Edwards said three men, including Jones, his brother and another man, were gathered on a porch at the apartments when they were confronted by two other men about stolen items. "These two suspects pulled out guns and starting shooting," he said.
The two suspects ran from the scene before officers arrived, Edwards said. "No one deserves to die like this man did tonight," he said.
No arrests had been announced by early Sunday afternoon. Police on Sunday night said patrol officers believe the suspect or suspects and the victim in a dispute over a handgun and drugs, which may have led to the homicide.
While processing the scene, investigators recovered handguns and marijuana. Sgt. Bryan Shelton said West Precinct officers have responded to the location before, which resulted in the confiscations of guns and other items. He said no official connection has been confirmed between Saturday's shooting and the previous confiscation.
Friends and family gathered at the apartment, where a makeshift memorial was up by early Sunday. A Father's Day card sat on the bench where he was killed, and neighbors stopped by to sign it.
Saturday night was the first time in 11 years Johnson had spent away from Jones. They had three children, ages 10, 8, and 5, and Jones also had another 10-year-old son. In all, he was a father to three sons and one daughter.
Johnson, a makeup artist, was inside their apartment working when the gunfire erupted. She ran outside, where Jones was face down on the sidewalk in front of their home. She kneeled over him, crying out for help and desperately trying to stop the bleeding with her hands. "She tried to save him,'' said the victim's sister, Shauntel Jones. "She was holding her hand trying to stop the bleeding."
"It's not right. It's unbearable,'' Shauntel Jones said. "How can you just walk up behind somebody and take somebody from his family? How do you just shoot somebody in the head when they're not looking? How do you not give them a chance to defend themselves? You just took him. He didn't have a chance to fight back. My nieces and nephews saw their daddy laying on the ground dead."
Family and neighbors said Erwin Jones was a leader in their apartment complex, and described him as a "protector."
"He didn't care whose child it was, he was always the one breaking it up. It was never just about him. He was always the one who helped people,'' said Valencia Johnson, his sister-in-law. "He'd put his arms around people and tell them he loved them. He showed the community love. He watched them. He was He just wanted kids to be happy."
"You don't have too many people out there who do that anymore,'' Valencia Johnson said. "He would tell people to put their guns, if you're gonna fight, fight and get it over with. He would never tell anyone to pick up a gun. He felt like that was cowardly.''
Shauntel Jones said she got word of the shooting about 7 p.m. She and her family immediately left their Texas home, and drove straight through to Birmingham. She said her big brother, one of five children, was the rock of their family. He not only was raising his children, but got custody of two of his younger brothers after their mother died in 2014, and was raising them as well.
"My brother didn't work. He took care of his kids. That was his job,'' she said. "And he raised me. We didn't have a father figure. He was our everything. We confided in him. We trusted him. Nothing was ever going to be wrong with us with him here."
"It really broke my heart,'' she said. "I can't believe it happened."
Family members have started a GoFundMe to help pay for Erwin Jones' burial and future care for his family. They haven't yet started to plan his funeral, but instead on Sunday were still trying to absorb the shock of his death.
She pleaded with the killer or killers to come forward. "Y'all took my brother from me. That was my rock. That's who I leaned on,'' she said. "I moved from Birmingham because of this. I took my second oldest brother with me. We was not doing good in Birmingham. It hurts me. Y'all took my brother. Y'all took a father. Y'all took a friend, a son. He wasn't supposed to leave us."
Asked if justice was important to her, Shauntel Jones said this: "Justice is just another way to put sugar on something that is bad,'' she said. "My brother is dead. I want them to feel my pain."
Anyone with information on Erwin Jones' death is asked to call Birmingham police at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.