A “Sweet 16’’ party turned into bloody mayhem in Alabama on Saturday night when a gunman fatally shot four people, including the birthday girl’s high-school-star brother, and wounded more than 20 others, according to reports.
At least 15 teens were among those shot — including five critically wounded — and local football stand-out Phil Dowdell, the sibling of the 16-year-old celebrating her birthday, was one of the dead in the shooting in tiny Dadeville, reports said.
Dowdell’s mother also suffered two gunshot wounds, the Montgomery Advertiser said.
“One of the young men that was killed was one of our star athletes and just a great guy,” high-school football-team chaplain Ben Hayes told The Associated Press, referring to Dowdell. “So I knew many of these students. Dadeville is a small town, and this is going to affect everybody in this area.”
Six of the shot teens were treated at a local hospital and released, while nine others were transferred to different facilities, with five in critical condition and four stable, officials said.
Some of the most critically hurt had to be flown to a trauma center in Birmingham, hospital officials said, according to NPR.
The shooting happened around 10:30 p.m. at the Mohagany Masterpiece dance studio in Dadeville, about 60 miles outside the state capital of Montgomery, according to The Alexander City Outlook.
Police have not revealed any information regarding a suspect or shared what they believe led to the violence. Hayes said it involved some kind of dispute beforehand.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Jeremy Burkett told the Advertiser only that the shooter is no longer a threat to the community.
“There’s just a lot of details that are sketchy at this time,” acknowledged Tallapoosa County Commission Chairman TC Coley at a late-morning briefing.
An emotional Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd added, “I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers” while calling the city “full of wonderful people.
“I ask you to keep my police department in your prayers. Please do not let this moment define what you think of the City of Dadeville and our fine people. What we’ve dealt with is something no community should have to endure,” he said.
President Biden said in a statement, “What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?
“When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” he said, also decrying another Saturday night shooting that left two people dead in a Louisville park.
“Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining,” the president said. “This is outrageous and unacceptable. Americans agree and want lawmakers to act on commonsense gun safety reforms.”
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey decried the violence in a tweet, writing, “This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
Multiple law enforcement agencies have been assisting the Dadeville Police Department, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office.
The town has a little over 3,000 residents, according to the US Census Bureau.
