An Alabama firefighter who was shot inside his fire station will be laid to rest today, providing a small measure of closure after what authorities have called a targeted attack that left another fireman critically wounded.
News outlets reported that Jordan Melton, 29, just a month out of the fire training academy, was shot July 12 at the Norwood station in Birmingham. He died July 17. Another firefighter, Jamal Jones, was hospitalized, local TV news and the New York Times reported.
Police are still searching for a motive and a suspect in the attack. Fire officials said the shootings were “extremely unusual.”
A $45,000 reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest in the shooting.
Until a suspect is apprehended and a motive is determined, it may be unclear if the victims will be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Alabama law in 2022 provided two-thirds of a worker’s wages for temporary total disability, up to a weekly maximum of $983. For fatalities on the job, the state allowed two-thirds of wages for dependents, for a maximum of 500 weeks, according to the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute.
Topics Alabama