Emotional family members filled the street, while investigators tried to piece together a deadly shooting Tuesday morning.
"There was some sort of altercation between two individuals where one of them was shot and did die," said Eric Gallichant, a spokesperson for the Mobile Police Department.
The shooting happened around 9 a.m. at a home on Chin Street. Family members say the body of 40-year-old Jerel Walker was found in a neighbors' yard.
"He was digging a grave. He was on his way back when the young man was chasing him up into this man's yard," said Blondina Stewart, Walker's sister.
Their mother, Dorothy Walker, says her son had left her house just a few minutes before she heard five gun shots. She didn't know it was her son that was shot and killed.
"I was in the bathtub taking my bath," said Walker. "I didn't know who had got shot," she said, fighting back tears.
Tuesday's shooting brings the number of homicides in Mobile County to a dozen for the year. But, Gallichant says it's not time to sound the alarm.
"If we were starting to see a pattern of homicides that seem to be related, whether it's some sort of retaliation or something like that, that would be more of a red flag," said Gallichant.
Police say they detained the shooter at the scene, but as of Tuesday afternoon no charges had been filed.
Gallichant says investigators are trying to determine whether the shooter was provoked.
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