A man was gunned fatally down in west Birmingham neighborhood after he was apparent followed for miles.

The gunfire erupted about 9:30 p.m. Thursday in the 1400 block of Brighton Road. That location is just outside of the Midfield City Limits.

West Precinct officers dispatched to the neighborhood arrived to find an adult male unresponsive inside a vehicle. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said it appears the victim had stopped on the side of the street when another vehicle pulled up alongside him and opened fire into the vehicle.

“Sadly,’’ said Fitzgerald, “the car is riddled with bullets.”

Fitzgerald reluctantly confirmed there was another person inside the vehicle with the victim at the time of the shooting but did not want to say more.

“This group that targeted this victim serious about what they did tonight,’’ he said. “If this group followed this man for this many miles and targeted him, there’s not telling what they’re capable of.”

Many of the victim’s relatives rushed to Brighton Road.

“As everyone can hear, this is a very emotional scene,’’ Fitzgerald said. “There are a lot of family members on the scene, and everyone is just trying to figure out why would somebody just gun this person down in the middle of the roadway in a residential area.”

The victim is Birmingham’s 29th homicide this year. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 37 slayings, including the 29 in Birmingham.

Fitzgerald said detectives need anyone who has information or video footage to come forward.

Tipsters are asked to call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.