Self-Inflicted Gunshot Ended Shootout With Police: Report

BIRMINGHAM, AL — A Friday morning shooting outside a Birmingham cafe that put a cop in the hospital ended when the shooter, 26-year-old Larry Dejuan Henderson, ended his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot, the Jefferson County Coroner’s Office announced Monday. Henderson, who had previously been convicted of capital murder as a juvenile, was pronounced dead at UAB Hospital following the shooting.

Early media reports of the incident described Henderson refusing to pay for a meal Ruth's Café prior to his confrontation with Birmingham police Det. Mikiel Smith. However, in statements to the The Birmingham News, Ruth's Café owner Wilma Bibb said that was not the case.

According to Bibb, Henderson had come into the cafe before 8 a.m. to order a breakfast sandwich and cake. Bibb said Henderson asked the cashier to pay for his order. When his request was declined, he went out to his car and returned to pay for his own food.

When Henderson left the store a second time, however, he sat in his car and stared at the restaurant, prompting concern from the store staff. That's when Birmingham police Det. Mikiel Smith, a regular customer at Ruth's, arrived to pick up his own breakfast.

Smith confronted Henderson in the parking lot and asked him to leave. At that point, Bibb said, "that young man opened the door and he fired, and he shot the officer in the arm. He shot him in the arm twice." Bibb also claimed she saw Henderson "put the gun to his head" and shoot himself.

Smith, a 19-year veteran of the force, was rushed to a hospital. In the Monday news release, the Birmingham Police Department said Smith has since been released from the hospital "and is expected to make a full recovery."

Henderson's background is notable. At 16, he was indicted for capital murder for his role in the killing of a 69-year-old man. Henderson's case eventually became part of a 2013 Alabama Supreme Court decision that changed how judges sentence juvenile defendants. Read more about that background and the shooting at The Birmingham News.