An army veteran was shot dead on Sunday morning as he tried to stop what he believed to be an ongoing car burglary outside his Forest Park home.
It was just after 4.10am when Ethan Lann, 32, left his home at The Windsor Apartments to get into his Jeep to go to work.
Lann, who said the neighborhood had been plagued by vehicle break-ins for more than a year, saw a group of would-be thieves smash cars. When he saw what was happening, he shouted, “Hey.”
Within seconds, he was taking shots.
“The very first pop I heard, I felt something hit my shin,” Lann said.
Lann dropped to the ground and took refuge behind a tree. He said eight more shots were fired at him as he took cover.
“The two gunmen continued to shoot at him as he was injured and took cover,” the neighbor added. Janis La Velle wrote in a GoFundMe launched for Lann.
“They didn’t want to hurt. Their goal was to kill someone for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“This is just an awful story and has no place in our community,” La Velle wrote.
Lann was able to make his way up a stairwell and found himself behind a brick wall. He said the group of suspected thieves left soon after.
He said it was not the first time he had come across possible thieves in the neighborhood, but usually they ran away. “Once I realized I had been shot, I was just worried about getting the paramedics here,” he said.
Lann was taken to hospital. “I have a shattered .45 caliber in my leg because the hospital could not safely remove all but two pieces,” he said.
Lann cannot put weight on his leg and is expected to be out of work for a long time while recovering. He is a locksmith, and the only representative of his company in this field.
But he’s also upset about the ongoing theft issue in his neighborhood. He said he believed it was the same group of people who were committing the crimes that have taken place since last year.
“I think we gave the video to the Birmingham Police Department three times,” he said. “I can’t say nothing is being done, but I don’t see any fruit of their labor.”
Lann said he was shocked to be immediately greeted with gunfire.
“It seems like they don’t care about life at all,” he said.
He said the brazen attack worries him because he lives in an area where foot traffic is popular, like mothers walking their children. He hopes something can be done to catch the suspects.
“It doesn’t even require you to pose a threat,” he said. “Your mere presence is going to be greeted with hostility.”
Police have not announced any arrests in the case.
His neighbor started the GoFundMe to help Lann pay his medical bills and living expenses while he recovers. He lives with his girlfriend and her service dog, Chewy. Donations can be made here.
“Ethan served overseas in OEF (Operation Enduring Freedom) unharmed physically,” La Velle wrote, “to have all that violence to unfold on his doorstep on a Sunday morning.”
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