GoFundMe Page Raising Money For Local Teen's Funeral Expenses

BIRMINGHAM, AL —A GoFundMe page has been established to pay for the funeral expenses for De'Undray Haggard, the 18-year-old Birmingham teenager whom police said was shot to death Wednesday night on the city's west side.

Haggard's girlfriend Candice Banks started the page on Thursday, writing: "We want to be able to lay him to rest the right way." As of Friday morning, the page had received $870 of its $10,000 goal.

"(Haggard) always had a smile on his face that brightened up the room," Banks wrote. "Anybody who knew (Haggard) knew he stayed out of trouble, all he wanted was to get out of Birmingham. He planned to go to college and become an entrepreneur, own his own business."

Banks added: "You will be missed De'Undray, we love you."

According to the Birmingham Police Department, just after 8 p.m. Wednesday, officers were dispatched to the 2900 block of John Bryant Road after the report of a person being shot.

Officers arrived to find Haggard suffering from multiple gunshots. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue.

Police said their preliminary investigation indicated Haggard met the suspect at that location. During their interaction, the suspect shot Haggard multiple times before fleeing on foot.

As of Friday, the police department had not reported any arrests related to the case, which police said was the city's eighth murder investigation of 2022.

According to AL.com, Haggard was a senior at A.H. Parker High School, though he originally was from Selma.

"Once again, we have lost a Birmingham City Schools student to gun violence and we are deeply saddened," Mark Sullivan, superintendent of Birmingham City Schools, told AL.com. "Our thoughts and prayers are with De'Undray's family as well as the Parker High School family."

On Saturday, another local high school student, 16-year-old Yasmine Wright, was killed after police believe she was caught in gunfire on her way home from her job at the Birmingham Zoo. Wright was a student at Wenonah High School.

Ed Franklin Harris, a 49-year-old man, also was killed in that incident.

Police interviewed a person of interest in that case, but did not file charges against him, AL.com reported on Wednesday.

Police are asking anybody with information about either case to contact the B.P.D. Homicide Unit at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Anonymous tips can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers through the Birmingham Police Department’s Mobile App.