Birmingham police have charged a 20-year-old man with capital murder in a shooting outside a McDonald’s on Bessemer Road that killed one man and wounded another, the department announced Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026.
Ernesto Pablo, a Fort Payne man also identified as Ernesto Gama Pablo, also faces charges of attempted murder and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. Officers booked him into the Jefferson County Jail, where he is being held without bond. Capital murder is the most serious charge in Alabama’s criminal code, and a defendant facing it is typically held without bond, as Pablo is.
The Shooting on Bessemer Road
Officers were called to the restaurant, in the 2200 block of Bessemer Road, at about 9 p.m. on Sept. 28 after reports of gunfire. They found Isaiah Hosanna, a 20-year-old man, in the parking lot. Hosanna was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead at about 9:30 p.m.
Gunfire also struck a second person, whose injuries were “non-life-threatening,” police said. The shots shattered windows at the fast-food restaurant. Birmingham, Alabama’s largest city, sits in the north-central part of the state.
Investigators believe Hosanna and others had arranged to meet someone outside the restaurant that night. One of the suspects allegedly opened fire when the meeting wrapped up, hitting Hosanna and the second victim. The purpose of the meeting was not immediately clear.
Two Arrests in Decatur
The case stayed open more than a week before investigators tracked the two suspects. Police arrested Pablo and a 17-year-old boy on Tuesday, Oct. 6, in the 2100 block of Westmead Drive Southwest in Decatur, Alabama, roughly 80 miles north of the shooting scene and well outside Jefferson County. The arrests came eight days after the killing.
Officers transported Pablo to the Jefferson County Jail and held him without bond. They took the 17-year-old to the Birmingham City Jail “and placed on a 48-hour Felony Extension,” the Birmingham Police Department said. A 48-hour felony extension is a holding window that gives detectives extra time to build a case and formally present charges.
The charges against the teenager are unclear, and the department has not publicly named him. The department has not detailed the accusations against him or described his role as investigators understand it.
What Police Have Not Said
Police have not said how the attempted murder and firearm charges relate to the second victim or to any vehicle. Authorities have not released details on what led to the meeting outside the restaurant, and they have released no details on any relationship between Hosanna and the people he was there to see.
Police also have not described how they traced the suspects to the Decatur address. The department has announced no court dates.