An argument at a west Birmingham home led to shots fired and ended with a woman dead.

The shooting happened about 10:15 p.m. Thursday at a residence in the 700 block of New Hill Court.

Officer Truman Fitzgerald said West Precinct officers responded to the scene and found the victim unresponsive on a set of exterior stairs outside the home. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced her dead on the scene.

Investigators believe the victim was at a friend’s house when the suspect got into an argument with her. The suspect, Fitzgerald said, is the boyfriend or acquaintance of the victim’s friend.

“He was here causing a disturbance with everybody,’’ Fitzgerald said. “Somehow he and the victim got into an argument, and he shot the victim.”

“He did target the victim,’’ he said.

The suspect fled the scene after the shooting, but Fitzgerald said they know who he is and are actively searching for him.

The victim’s mother quickly arrived at the location, falling to the ground in tears at the loss of her only daughter. She police her daughter was five months pregnant.

“It’s a heartbreaking scene,’’ Fitzgerald said. “We’ve lost another community member to violence.”

“You never get used to that,’’ he said. “It’s important that our officers never become desensitized to it.”

“We have had 70 plus homicides already, but we have to individualize each one so that mother over there gets the one on one attention she deserves,’’ he said.

“We’re going do whatever we can to get this person in custody,’’ Fitzgerald said, “as we have done in so many cases recently.”

The woman was Birmingham’s second homicide on Thursday, and one of three in 24 hours in the city.

There have been 72 homicides so far this year in Birmingham. Of those, seven have been ruled justifiable and therefore aren’t deemed criminal.

In all of Jefferson County, there have been 97 homicides, including the 72 in Birmingham.

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