A masked gunman opened fire on a small group of people standing in field in a southwest Birmingham neighborhood, leaving one person dead.

The shots rang out just before 5 p.m. Monday in the 100 block of First Avenue S.W. in the Titusville community.

Sgt. LaQuitta Wade said officers arrived on the scene to find a man unresponsive outside a shed in a small field where people are known to gather.

Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced the victim dead on the scene. No one else was injured.

The victim, who has not yet been identified, was talking with other people when the shooter, wearing a ski masked, approached them on foot and fired multiple shots.

At least a handful of shell casings were marked as evidence.

The shooter then fled the scene.

The investigation is in its early stages.

The victim is Birmingham’s third homicide in three days and the 23rd so far this year. Of those, three have been ruled justifiable and therefore are not deemed criminal.

In all of Jefferson County there have been 30 homicides, including the 23 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information is asked to call homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.