Easter Sunday marked the somber anniversary of a shooting in Birmingham’s W.C. Patton Park killed Areyelle Yarbrough and injured five others.

On Monday, the FBI and the Birmingham Police Department announced a $30,000 reward for information that leads to Yarbrough’s killer or killers.

“Patton Park is a place where our community members go to experience the calmness of nature, to exercise, and on the holidays to spend time with family and friends, said BPD spokesman Officer Truman Fitzgerald. “On Easter Sunday 2021, this place of peace was transformed into a war zone as gunshots rang out.”

“Our community lost a beautiful soul that night in Areyelle Yarbrough,’’ he said.

The five surviving victims ranged in age from 21 to 5.

“Their lives were forever changed,’’ Fitzgerald said, “and we want them to know we are fighting for them as well.”

The gunfire erupted just after 7 p.m. that Sunday, April 4, 2021, while hundreds, if not more, were gathered celebrating the holiday.

Officers arrived to find Yarbrough, 32, laying on the ground just outside the passenger door of her vehicle wounded by gunfire. She was pronounced dead outside vehicle, and those with her said she was trying to protect some of the children who were with her.

A witness said two women were sitting on top of a blue Dodge Charger when someone opened fire, striking the Charger and the two women.

She said one of those women was shot in the chest; the witness said the other was Yarbrough.

Then, multiple people started shooting. “They didn’t even know what they were shooting at,” she said, estimating about 100 shots were fired.

Yarbrough was a graduate of Alabama A&M University graduate and currently working on her MBA. She was a manager over 12 employees at the Jefferson County Department of Revenue where she headed principal accounting for business and sale tax licensing.

Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond and FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Birmingham office, Carlton Peeples, held a press conference Monday in Patton Park.

Thurmond called the park shooting senseless violence.

“We have young lady who was here trying to enjoy Easter with family and friends who was shot by stray gunfire and lost her life,’’ the chief said.

“We know there were many other people in this park who witnesses what happened,’’ he said. “We know there are many others who know what happened and they know who is responsible.”

“We want to get those killers off the streets of Birmingham,’’ Thurmond said.

Peeples agreed.

“They were here on an Easter Sunday, a holiday that millions of Americans celebrate with friends and family,’’ Peeples said. “However, on that day, and every Easter going forward, the family of Miss Yarbrough will continue to mourn the loss of her life.”

“Time does not take away the pain of her loss, nor does time diminish our dedication to do everything we can to find her killer,’’ he said.

In addition to the $30,000 reward, billboards by Lamar Advertising featuring Yarbrough’s slaying and the reward will be on display beginning today and running for 30 days.

Residents living in zip codes 35022, 35212, 35217, 35207, 35206 will also be receiving targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram.

“If you know the FBI, we have two things going for us in these types of cases – a very long memory and a dogged to commitment to run down every lead,’’ Peeples said. “We’re seeing far too much violence in Birmingham, and no one can solve it alone.”

Peeples emphasized the need for community involvement.

“There were a lot of people in that park two years ago on Easter Sunday,’’ he said. “Someone saw something but maybe thought it wasn’t worth passing along. Someone may know something but is maybe too scared to come forward. If you are one of those individuals…I hope you considering sharing any information you have with investigators.”

“We not only owe it to her family,’’ he said, “but we also owe it to this community.”

Thurmond has previously said investigators believe members the Birmingham street gang – H2K or Hard to Kill – were behind the dozens of bullets fired in the park that day.

“H2K became very prevalent with the Patton Park shooting,’’ Thurmond said in a previous AL.com interview.

H2K has since been the target of Birmingham, county, state and federal investigations. Some leaders and members have been jailed on other charges, but those arrests have yet to yield enough information to make an arrest in the park shooting.

“They haven’t shared any information hat would help us with this case at this point in time,’’ the chief said.

Still, Thurmond said, he hopes the passing of time will change the minds of those who know what happened that night.

“We hope that some of the people involved could possibly be in jail or things have changes in the past two years that would make somebody more akin to coming forward and giving information,’’ the chief said. “People are potentially scared of retaliation if they come forward, but the thing is, there are killers on our streets that still remain. Until people come forward, that narrative isn’t going to change.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764, Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777, or the FBI’s tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324.