Alabama shooting - live: Phil Dowdell died saving sister’s life during Dadeville party massacre
A high school football star who was among the four killed in a mass shooting in Alabama, died while saving his sister’s life.
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18, pushed his sister Alexis Dowdell, when the gunfire erupted at her ‘Sweet 16’ birthday party on Saturday at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville.
“I guess he tried to push me out the door as fast as he could, but I ended up slipping on blood, because it was a whole bunch of blood on the floor,” Alexis told Associated Press.
Marsiah Collins, Corbin Holston and KeKe Nicole Smith have been named as the three other victims of the mass shooting that left four dead and 28 injured.
Of the wounded, 15 are understood to be teenagers, six of whom have since been discharged from hospital. Of the remaining nine, four are said to be in stable condition and five are critical.
“It was a very sad, sad scene,” said Ben Hayes, senior pastor at Dadeville First Baptist Church and team chaplain of Dadeville High School. “A very rough night.”
No arrests have been made as the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency described the situation as “very fluid”.
Key Points
High school football star among victims of latest mass shooting
Volleyball player, 18, identified by family as second victim
Mourners hold vigil for victims of Dadeville shooting
Joe Biden: ‘What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?'
Gun violence at ‘Sweet 16’ party leaves four dead, 28 injured
Birthday girl begged dying brother to ‘stay with me’
04:57 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Alexis Dowdell’s ‘Sweet 16’ birthday party ended with her kneeling beside her fatally wounded brother on the floor of a dance studio in small-town Alabama after a mass shooting.
The shooting left her 18-year-old brother, Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, and three others dead, along with another 28 injured, some critically.
“I got on my knees and he was laying face down. And that’s when I grabbed him. I turned him over, I was holding him,” Alexis told Associated Press.
“I wasn’t crying at the moment because I was trying to be strong instead of panicking. And so I said, ‘You’re going to be all right. You’re a fighter, you’re strong.”
Alexis said she dove to the floor near the DJ as the crowd began to run.
She “didn’t know where to run,” in part because shots seemed to come from multiple directions.
When there was a break in the gunfire, Alexis bolted for the front door. But someone pushed her. It was her brother, trying to protect her, she said.
“I guess he tried to push me out the door as fast as he could, but I ended up slipping on blood, because it was a whole bunch of blood on the floor,” she added.
Alabama shooting: Everything we know about the Dadeville birthday party attack
05:00 , Andrea Blanco
America has suffered another tragic outbreak of gun violence, this time at a “Sweet 16” birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, in which four people were killed and a further 28 injured.
According to local police, the shooting began at around 10.34pm on Saturday (15 April) during a celebration held at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville, a small town of around 3,000 residents lying 45 miles north east of Montgomery.
The Independent’s Joe Sommerlad report:
Everything we know about the Alabama birthday party shooting
Some survivors in ‘critical state’
04:00 , Andrea Blanco
Law enforcement officers say some of the injured remained in hospital on Sunday in critical condition.
According to Ivy Creek Healthcare, which oversees the Lake Martin Community Hospital, a total of 15 teenage patients were treated at that facility.
Six of those patients were later discharged. Nine were transferred to other hospitals, four in stable condition and five in critical condition, WSFA 12 reported.
“This is a fluid situation. We have been getting continuous updates throughout the day,” said Sgt Jeremy Burkett.
“We are going through that process right now. We are going through a very methodical way, we are not going to rush. We are going to do exactly what we need to do to ensure justice.”
Local politicians react to Dadeville shooting
03:00 , Andrea Blanco
Governor Kay Ivey acknowledged the shooting on social media.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” she wrote. “Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
Dadeville’s mayor, Jimmy Goodman, said that the residents were “in shock” and that they were “doing our best to cope with it”.
“We’re just trying to make do,” he told the news outlet.
The mass shooting is the latest in a violent spring across the US south. In late March, a woman shot and six people at a private school in Nashville, including three 9-year-old children. A few weeks later a mass shooter in Louisville, Kentucky, killed six people and injured nine others at his workplace.
Dadeville shooting victim attends vigil in hospital gown
02:00 , Andrea Blanco
A survivor of the Dadeville, Alabama, mass shooting attended a vigil in her hospital gown just a day after the tragedy.
Taniya Cox, an 18-year-old who was shot twice in her right arm as she fled the party, joined hundreds of residents, community leaders and local politicians at a vigil on Sunday night, the Montgomery Advertiser reported. In an interview with CBS News, Ms Cox also recounted the moments leading up to the violence and recalled seeing more than one gunman.
The Independent has more:
Dadeville shooting victim attends vigil in hospital gown
Community needs answers on shooting, mayor says
01:00 , Andrea Blanco
Dadeville mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman, who has lived in the city for 53 years and held his current office since 2020, said on Sunday that the town needed answers about the events of Saturday night, with law enforcement so far offering very little information about the suspect or their possible motives.
“The community probably wants to make sure there’s no one around here that’s going to keep doing this,” he told AL.com.
“They want to find out whether it was someone from another town or someone who was passing through. Their minds want to be settled that it wasn’t someone from here, or even from the next town.”
He was asked what it will take for Dadeville to recover from the tragedy.
”It’s going to take prayer,” he answered.
“It’s going to take Dadeville coming together as one and helping one another out. We do that, and we keep God first then I’m sure God will bring us through it.”
Mayor Goodman has previously explained how he was woken up late on Saturday night by a call from a council member telling called him about the shooting. He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.
“It was chaotic,” he said of the scene he encountered there.
“There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones. That was a scene, where we never had anything like this happen in our city before.”
He also said that guns and violence are not a frequent part of life in Dadeville, adding, pessimistically, that trying to control guns would prove as futile as trying to control illegal drugs.
Guns are the leading killer of children in America, White House says
Tuesday 18 April 2023 00:00 , Andrea Blanco
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, the White House said on Sunday, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with local officials.
“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?” president Biden said in a statement yesterday.
“Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising - not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
The president called on Congress to “require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
No suspects named in Sweet 16 shooting attack
Monday 17 April 2023 23:00 , Andrea Blanco
Little information has come out officially about the shooting in the hours since it happened. A grisly photo — showing six people lying on the ground inside the dance studio next to the words “praying for Dadeville” — has emerged after the shooting, according to the broadcaster. First responders said they were aware of the shooting, and a group of social media users are trying to get the image removed.
Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, said he spent the night with the families of the victims, according to ABC News.
Family members of the victims reportedly told Mr Haynes that an argument inside the party sparked the shooting, and that there were more than 50 people at the party when the violence broke out.
The situation is under active investigation by the ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigations, the Dadeville Police Department, and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Tallapoosa County schools to offer students counselling after massacre
Monday 17 April 2023 21:58 , Andrea Blanco
Raymond C Porter, school district superintendent for Tallapoosa County, said local institutions would offer counselling to students from today in response to Saturday’s deadly violence.
Dadeville High School, which the victims we know about so far attended, had 485 students in grades 6-12 in 2022, according to Alabama state data.
It serves Dadeville and nearby parts of Tallapoosa County. Like the rest of Dadeville, it’s tucked away just out of view off a busy highway that runs from Birmingham to Auburn.
The school’s head football coach, Roger McDonald, mourning Dowdell, said he would try his best to support grieving students in the wake of the tragedy.
“There’s not a playbook for something like this,” he said.
“So the best you’ve got to do is just love on your kids, let them all know how much you care about them, be there for them.”
Who are the victims of the Alabama ‘Sweet 16’ shooting?
Monday 17 April 2023 20:58 , Andrea Blanco
Dadeville, Alabama, became the latest community in the US to be rocked by gun violence after a mass shooting erupted during a Sweet 16 birthday party.
Four victims, aged 17 to 23, were killed and more than two dozen people wounded on Saturday night. Very few details have been shared about the shooting as of Monday evening, including a possible motive behind the attack, and nearly 48 hours after the violence, the shooter or shooters remain at large.
The tragedy has hit every corner in the small city of just 3,200, Amy Jackson told The Independent on Monday. Ms Jackson’s cousin Keke Nicole Smith is among the victims killed — and she has at least two other loved ones recovering in hospital. Her fiancé’s nephew Corbin Holston was also killed during the attack.
“It’s still fresh. It hasn’t sunk in that this is really happening. It’s a close-knitted community, people know everybody. ‘Your kids are our kids’ type of community,” Ms Jackson said. “And it’s just hard to believe that something like that, that we normally see on TV ... is our reality.”
The Independent has more:
What we know about the victims of the Alabama ‘Sweet 16’ shooting
Victims 'just wanted to enjoy the birthday party’
Monday 17 April 2023 20:26 , Andrea Blanco
Community members are speaking out about the Alabama shooting.
“This is a small community and they just wanted to enjoy the birthday party,” Annette Allen told Troy Public Radio. “We had to be standing and waiting for bodies to brought out.”
Her granddaughter’s birthday party at a dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama, was the scene of the shooting on Saturday, where four people were killed.
Phil Dowdell, her grandson, was among those killed in the violence.
Alabama DJ says partygoers told someone had a gun
Monday 17 April 2023 19:49 , Andrea Blanco
Keenan Cooper, who was the DJ at the party when the gunfire broke out, said that prior to the shooting there were rumours afloat that someone in attendance had a gun.
“They mentioned someone had a gun,” Mr Cooper told WBMA.
“They stopped the party for a second, asked them to leave, nobody left and the party continued.”
An hour later, a gunman opened fire inside the Dadeville dance studio, killing at least four and injuring 28 others.
Mr Cooper said he helped teens hide under the table where he was doing his set. “I only tried to help who was in front of me, so I had a lot of people under the table and beside me trying to protect them,” he said.
“After everybody ran out, I made sure they were ok and that’s when I came out and the police arrived.”
The DJ earlier said that he didn’t hear a fight or disturbance prior to the shooting. “It’s really sad to see all the kids that were shot and the ones that are deceased,” he told CNN.
“And seeing all those bodies at the front door, all those kids are probably going to be traumatised.”
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
Monday 17 April 2023 19:13 , Andrea Blanco
Among high-income countries around the world, the United States has for years stood out for one reason: its rate of gun violence.
Over the last decade, among relatively wealthy countries with populations of 10m or more, the rate of gun violence in the US has far surpassed that of any other nation. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the adjusted firearm homicide rate in the US is 22 times that of the European Union and more than that of Asian countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea.
This year is on track to be no different.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have as of mid-April already been 149 mass shootings in the US — with gun violence claiming lives in every state in the country.
The Independent’s Abe Asher reports:
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
Mayor describes scenes at the hospital after shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 18:44 , Andrea Blanco
Dadeville mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman said he was in bed asleep when a council member called him just before 11pm on Saturday.
He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.
“It was chaotic,” Mr Goodman said.
“There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones.
“That was a scene, where we never had anything like this happen in our city before.”
The mayor described Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell as a good man. Dowdell was one of the four victims of the mass shooting.
Mayor Goodman added he is concerned about those wounded and psychologically traumatised by the shooting.
“We are praying for them. We ask God, if it’s his will, to bring them back to their parents safe, so they can mend.”
From a college football star to an aspiring musician: These are the victims of the Dadeville ‘Sweet 16’ shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 18:24 , Andrea Blanco
A Sweet 16 birthday party for a girl at a dance studio in Alabama turned into a mass shooting, leaving four dead and at least 28 injured.
Gunfire erupted at roughly 10.34pm local time on Saturday at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in downtown Dadeville, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said on Sunday.
What we know about the victims of the Dadeville shooting
Pro-gun Alabama governor criticised
Monday 17 April 2023 17:45 , Andrea Blanco
Kay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, was criticised after she tweeted “violent crime has no place in our state” in the wake of Saturday’s mass shooting where four people were killed.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” the Republican governor wrote yesterday.
“Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
The governor’s condolence message was met with criticism on social media by those calling for gun reforms.
Ms Ivey, a pro-gun Republican, signed legislation last year ending a requirement to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public.
Her candidacy for the governor election was also reportedly endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
“It’s on your hands, Kay,” tweeted author John Pavlovitz.
Fourth victim arrived at the party ‘out of concern'
Monday 17 April 2023 17:19 , Andrea Blanco
Corbin Holston, 23, has been identified as the fourth fatal victim in Saturday’s shooting.
He did not attend the party but rushed to the scene after a family member texted him that there was “a serious concern.”
“Out of concern for other family members, Corbin responded to the party to ensure their safety but unfortunately encountered the suspects,’’ his mom Janett Heard told AL.com.
“Corbin was selfless when it came to his family and friends and always tried to be a protector,’’ Heard said. “That’s just the type of person he was.”
Joe Biden decries rampant gun violence
Monday 17 April 2023 16:55 , Andrea Blanco
Mourning the dead after his return from a four-day state visit to Ireland, US president Joe Biden said: “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 theatre, or to the park?
“Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
The incident comes after mass shootings at a Christian elementary school in suburban Nashville, Tennessee, and at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, once more inspiring calls for America to introduce tighter gun control laws.
‘They just wanted to enjoy the birthday party’
Monday 17 April 2023 16:41 , Andrea Blanco
Community members are speaking out about the Alabama shooting.
“This is a small community and they just wanted to enjoy the birthday party,” Annette Allen told Troy Public Radio. “We had to be standing and waiting for bodies to brought out.”
Her granddaughter’s birthday party at a dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama, was the scene of the shooting on Saturday, where four people were killed.
Phil Dowdell, her grandson, was among those killed in the violence.
Investigation continues in Alabama shooting that killed 4, hurt 28
Monday 17 April 2023 16:13 , Andrea Blanco
Alabama officials continued investigating a weekend shooting that killed four and injured 28 at a teenager’s birthday party.
Victims include Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18, and Shaunkivia Nicole “Keke” Smith, 17, who were identified by family members on Sunday.
The Saturday night shooting took place at a birthday party for Dowdell’s sister at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in Dadeville. It’s not clear how many of the 28 injured were shot.
Also unclear is who may have started the shooting and why, or whether investigators have made any arrests. Sgt Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not take questions during news conferences Sunday. Officials repeatedly asked others to come forward with information on the shooting.
No suspects named in Sweet 16 shooting attack
Monday 17 April 2023 15:50 , Andrea Blanco
Little information has come out officially about the shooting in the hours since it happened. A grisly photo — showing six people lying on the ground inside the dance studio next to the words “praying for Dadeville” — has emerged after the shooting, according to the broadcaster. First responders said they were aware of the shooting, and a group of social media users are trying to get the image removed.
Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, said he spent the night with the families of the victims, according to ABC News.
Family members of the victims reportedly told Mr Haynes that an argument inside the party sparked the shooting, and that there were more than 50 people at the party when the violence broke out.
The situation is under active investigation by the ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigations, the Dadeville Police Department, and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office.
WATCH: ‘They’re not fatalities, they’re lives tragically lost’
Monday 17 April 2023 15:35 , Andrea Blanco
Here’s an extract from Sergeant Jeremy Burkett’s brief press conference yesterday, in which he warned that unravelling precisely what happened during the shooting on Saturday night would be “a long, complicated process” but pledged to deliver justice and pointedly emphasised that the victims should be thought of as lives lost, not mere fatality statistics.
ICYMI: Everything we know about the Dadeville birthday party attack
Monday 17 April 2023 15:17 , Andrea Blanco
America has suffered another tragic outbreak of gun violence, this time at a “Sweet 16” birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, in which four people were killed and a further 28 injured.
According to local police, the shooting began at around 10.34pm on Saturday night during a celebration held at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville, a small town of around 3,000 residents lying 45 miles northeast of Montgomery.
The Independent’s Joe Sommerland reports:
Everything we know about the Alabama shooting
Honours student and stellar football player among fatal victims
Monday 17 April 2023 14:54 , Andrea Blanco
An honours student at Dadeville High School, Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, was identified as one of the victims of the shooting by family members.
He was celebrating his sister’s birthday before he was shot dead, his grandmother Annette Allen told the Montgomery Advertiser newspaper.
The high school senior was a stellar football player and had committed to Jacksonville State University.
The Jacksonville State Football team issued a statement mourning the loss of the would-be member of their programme.
“Our Thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of the senseless tragedy last night,” tweeted Rich Rodriguez, the head coach of the team.
“He was a great young man with a bright future. My staff and I are heartbroken and hope that everyone will support his family through this difficult time.”
Ms Allen described him as a “very humble child” who always had a smile on his face.
“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” Ms Allen told the newspaper, calling it “a million-dollar smile”.
“Everybody’s grieving.”
Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the team chaplain for the local high school football team, said he was weeks away from graduation and had a bright future.
“He was a strong competitor on the field,” Mr Hayes said. “You didn’t want to try to tackle him or get tackled by him. But when he came off the field, he was one of the nicest young men that you could ever meet, very respectful and well-respected by his peers.”
In which states do mass shootings most frequently occur?
Monday 17 April 2023 14:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Data shows that gun violence, and gun violence deaths, are disproportionately concentrated in red America.
Here’s what you need to know about the political dynamics of gun violence in the US.
GOP says gun violence mostly happens in Democratic cities – the figures disagree
Local politicians react to Dadeville shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 14:17 , Andrea Blanco
Governor Kay Ivey acknowledged the shooting on social media.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” she wrote. “Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
Dadeville’s mayor, Jimmy Goodman, said that the residents were “in shock” and that they were “doing our best to cope with it”.
“We’re just trying to make do,” he told the news outlet.
The mass shooting is the latest in a violent spring across the US south. In late March, a woman shot and six people at a private school in Nashville, including three 9-year-old children. A few weeks later a mass shooter in Louisville, Kentucky, killed six people and injured nine others at his workplace.
'I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers’
Monday 17 April 2023 14:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s a reminder of what local police chief Jonathan Floyd had to say yesterday.
Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd on the shooting that left at least four people dead and 28 injured at Alabama birthday party: "I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers." https://t.co/N427cuuXGe pic.twitter.com/8SOZxdPi6A
— ABC News (@ABC) April 16, 2023
Recap: Four killed, 28 injured after shooting at Alabama birthday party
Monday 17 April 2023 13:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s a reminder of everything we know so far about Saturday’s tragedy courtesy of the IndyTV team.
Four killed, several injured after shooting at birthday party in Alabama
Tallapoosa County schools to offer students counselling after massacre
Monday 17 April 2023 13:00 , Joe Sommerlad
Raymond C Porter, school district superintendent for Tallapoosa County, said local institutions would offer counselling to students from today in response to Saturday’s deadly violence.
Dadeville High School, which the victims we know about so far attended, had 485 students in grades 6-12 in 2022, according to Alabama state data.
It serves Dadeville and nearby parts of Tallapoosa County. Like the rest of Dadeville, it’s tucked away just out of view off a busy highway that runs from Birmingham to Auburn.
The school’s head football coach, Roger McDonald, mourning Dowdell, said he would try his best to support grieving students in the wake of the tragedy.
“There’s not a playbook for something like this,” he said.
“So the best you’ve got to do is just love on your kids, let them all know how much you care about them, be there for them.”
Dadeville mayor says community needs answers on shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 12:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Dadeville mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman, who has lived in the city for 53 years and held his current office since 2020, said on Sunday that the town needed answers about the events of Saturday night, with law enforcement so far offering very little information about the suspect or their possible motives.
“The community probably wants to make sure there’s no one around here that’s going to keep doing this,” he told AL.com.
“They want to find out whether it was someone from another town or someone who was passing through. Their minds want to be settled that it wasn’t someone from here, or even from the next town.”
He was asked asked what it will take for Dadeville to recover from the tragedy.
”It’s going to take prayer,” he answered.
“It’s going to take Dadeville coming together as one and helping one another out. We do that, and we keep God first then I’m sure God will bring us through it.”
Mayor Goodman has previously explained how he was woken up late on Saturday night by a call from a council member telling called him about the shooting. He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.
“It was chaotic,” he said of the scene he encountered there.
“There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones. That was a scene, where we never had anything like this happen in our city before.”
He also said that guns and violence are not a frequent part of life in Dadeville, adding, pessimistically, that trying to control guns would prove as futile as trying to control illegal drugs.
One in five Americans have lost a family member to gun violence
Monday 17 April 2023 12:00 , Joe Sommerlad
An astonishing 19 per cent of Americans have experienced the trauma of losing a relative to gun violence, according to a timely new study, arriving in the wake of the recent mass shootings in Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky.
The survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about the same number (21 per cent) of US adults said they had been personally threatened with a gun.
And one in six US adults (17 per cent) had directly witnessed someone being shot, according to the poll.
Bevan Hurley reports.
One in five Americans have lost a family member to gun violence
KeKe Nicola Smith mourned by family: ‘My heart is scattered'
Monday 17 April 2023 11:30 , Joe Sommerlad
KeKe Nicole Smith, 18, the second person to have been identified as a victim of Saturday’s shooting, has been moured by her cousin in an emotional Facebook post.
Smith was a volleyball player and team manager for the Dadeville High School track team, Michael Taylor, a coach at the institution, told The New York Times.
KeKe Nicole Smith was a senior at Dadeville High School.
KeKe played volleyball & softball.
“She was full of love. She would joke around all the time, and she got onto all of us, even me. She was just full of life.” Coach Michael Taylor.
Last night, she was shot & killed at a… pic.twitter.com/O8LVm2geb4— Newtown Action Alliance (@NewtownAction) April 16, 2023
Amy Jackson, her cousin, confirmed her death on Facebook in the Dadeville shooting,
“My heart is scattered,” she wrote. “My lil cousin Ke... Please give our family respect during this time of bereavement Give us strength and understanding Mighty God. Praying for all loved ones that have lost their life or were injured.
“We love you Ke... it was a mass shooting in my hometown Dadeville Al... they took her from us.”
‘Million-dollar smile’: Philstavious Dowdell mourned by loved ones
Monday 17 April 2023 11:00 , Joe Sommerlad
One of those killed on Saturday in Dadeville was high school senior Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, destined for a promising career in college football with Jacksonville State University.
“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” his grandmother, Annette Allen, told The Montgomery Advertiser, adding that he had “a million-dollar smile.”
Philstavious Dowdell was Dadeville, Alabama’s “smooth game breaker”.
On February 1st, he committed to play football at @JSUGamecocks.
He was set to graduate high school next month.
Last night, he was shot & killed at his sister’s ‘Sweet 16’ party. pic.twitter.com/00pUyaY3DW— Newtown Action Alliance (@NewtownAction) April 16, 2023
Pastor Ben Hayes, Chaplain of the #Dadeville football team speaking about Philstavious Dowdell..
"Phil was a great young man... Phil was a great example of what it means to be a competitor...everybody loved him and everybody respected him..." pic.twitter.com/7NJ0ibSZVr— Rosie Langello (@RosieLangello) April 16, 2023
Here’s our report on what we know about Dowdell.
Student bound for Division 1 football career among victims of Alabama party shooting
‘We will ensure that justice is brought to bear for the families’
Monday 17 April 2023 10:30 , Joe Sommerlad
Here’s an extract from Sergeant Jeremy Burkett’s brief press conference yesterday, in which he warned that unravelling precisely what happened during the shooting on Saturday night would be “a long, complicated process” but pledged to deliver justice and pointedly emphasised that the victims should be thought of as lives lost, not mere fatality statistics.
Pro-gun Alabama governor criticised
Monday 17 April 2023 10:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Kay Ivey, the governor of Alabama, was criticised after she tweeted “violent crime has no place in our state” in the wake of Saturday’s mass shooting where four people were killed.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” the Republican governor wrote yesterday.
“Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
The governor’s condolence message was met with criticism on social media by those calling for gun reforms.
Ms Ivey, a pro-gun Republican, signed legislation last year ending a requirement to obtain a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public.
Her candidacy for the governor election was also reportedly endorsed by the National Rifle Association.
“It’s on your hands, Kay,” tweeted author John Pavlovitz.
It's on your hands, Kay.
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) April 16, 2023
“You know that we know who you are and what you’ve done, right,” asked photographer John de Guzmán.
You know that we know who you are and what you've done, right?
— John de Guzmán (@johndeguzman) April 16, 2023
No longer any threat to the community, police say
Monday 17 April 2023 09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Law enforcement officers said there was no longer any threat to the community, without providing any information about what led to the shooting or whether any suspect had been killed or arrested.
Authorities yesterday said the shooting started shortly after 10.30pm (local time) on Saturday but declined to answer questions or provide further details.
“We’re going to continue to work in a very methodical way to go through this scene, to look at the facts, and ensure that justice is brought to bear for the families,” said Jeremy Burkett, a sergeant with the Alabama law enforcement agency.
Alabama DJ says partygoers told someone had a gun
Monday 17 April 2023 09:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Keenan Cooper, who was the DJ at the party when the gunfire broke out, said that prior to the shooting there were rumours afloat that someone in attendance had a gun.
“They mentioned someone had a gun,” Mr Cooper told WBMA.
“They stopped the party for a second, asked them to leave, nobody left and the party continued.”
An hour later, a gunman opened fire inside the Dadeville dance studio, killing at least four and injuring 28 others.
Mr Cooper said he helped teens hide under the table where he was doing his set. “I only tried to help who was in front of me, so I had a lot of people under the table and beside me trying to protect them,” he said.
“After everybody ran out, I made sure they were ok and that’s when I came out and the police arrived.”
The DJ earlier said that he didn’t hear a fight or disturbance prior to the shooting. “It’s really sad to see all the kids that were shot and the ones that are deceased,” he told CNN.
“And seeing all those bodies at the front door, all those kids are probably going to be traumatised.”
CrimeStoppers offering cash reward for information
Monday 17 April 2023 08:45 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
CrimeStoppers is offering a $5,000 cash reward for information that leads to the identification and arrest of the suspect involved in the Dadeville mass shooting.
Alabama law enforcement officers yesterday implored people to come forward with information about a shooting incident that killed four people and injured 28 others.
“We’ve got to have information from the community,” Sgt Jeremy Burkett said during a news conference.
Members of the public have been encouraged to call (334) 215-STOP if they have information.
‘They just wanted to enjoy the birthday party'
Monday 17 April 2023 08:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Community members are speaking out about the Alabama shooting.
“This is a small community and they just wanted to enjoy the birthday party,” Annette Allen told Troy Public Radio. “We had to be standing and waiting for bodies to brought out.”
Her granddaughter’s birthday party at a dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama, was the scene of the shooting on Saturday, where four people were killed.
Phil Dowdell, her grandson, was among those killed in the violence.
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
Monday 17 April 2023 07:59 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Among high-income countries around the world, the United States has for years stood out for one reason: its rate of gun violence.
Over the last decade, among relatively wealthy countries with populations of 10m or more, the rate of gun violence in the US has far surpassed that of any other nation. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the adjusted firearm homicide rate in the US is 22 times that of the European Union and more than that of Asian countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea.
This year is on track to be no different.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have as of mid-April already been 149 mass shootings in the US — with gun violence claiming lives in every state in the country.
Abe Asher reports.
How many mass shootings have there been in 2023?
Mourners hold vigil for the victims of mass shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 07:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Some survivors in ‘critical state’
Monday 17 April 2023 07:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Law enforcement officers say some of the injured remained in hospital yesterday in critical condition.
According to Ivy Creek Healthcare, which oversees the Lake Martin Community Hospital, a total of 15 teenage patients were treated at that facility.
Six of those patients were later discharged. Nine were transferred to other hospitals, four in stable condition and five in critical condition, WSFA 12 reported.
“This is a fluid situation. We have been getting continuous updates throughout the day,” said Sgt Jeremy Burkett.
“We are going through that process right now. We are going through a very methodical way, we are not going to rush. We are going to do exactly what we need to do to ensure justice.”
What we know about the victims of the Dadeville shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 06:39 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
A Sweet 16 birthday party for a girl at a dance studio in Alabama turned into a mass shooting, leaving four dead and at least 28 injured.
Gunfire erupted at roughly 10.34pm local time on Saturday at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in downtown Dadeville, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said on Sunday.
The victims of the shooting are believed to be teenagers. Police are yet to provide further details, including the names of those who were killed or if the suspect shooter was in custody and the motive of the attack.
Two of the victims, however, were identified by their family members.
Shweta Sharma has more on what we know about them.
What we know about the victims of the Dadeville shooting
Mayor describes scenes at the hospital after shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 06:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Dadeville mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman said he was in bed asleep when a council member called him just before 11pm on Saturday.
He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.
“It was chaotic,” Mr Goodman said.
“There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones.
“That was a scene, where we never had anything like this happen in our city before.”
The mayor described Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell as a good man. Dowdell was one of the four victims of the mass shooting.
Mayor Goodman added he is concerned about those wounded and psychologically traumatised by the shooting.
“We are praying for them. We ask God, if it’s his will, to bring them back to their parents safe, so they can mend.”
Injury toll rises to 28 in Alabama shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 05:30 , Josh Marcus
At least 28 people were injured in Saturday’s shooting, according to officials, about twice the previously known figure, USA Today reports.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency spokesperson Sgt Jeremy Burkett said the victims suffered a “wide variety of injuries.”
Volleyball player, 18, identified as second victim
Monday 17 April 2023 05:22 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
KeKe Nicole Smith, an 18-year-old volleyball player and team manager for the Dadeville High School track team, was also killed in the shooting, according to her family.
Amy Jackson, the cousin of Smith, confirmed her death. “My heart is scattered,” Ms Jackson wrote on Facebook.
Authorities, however, are yet to officially confirm the identities of the victims.
The superintendent of the Tallapoosa County Board of Education, Raymond Porter, said at the news conference that schools would provide counseling to students today.
“We will make every effort to comfort those children.”
Dadeville holds vigil for victims of shooting
Monday 17 April 2023 04:41 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Community members in Dadeville yesterday participated in a vigil to remember the four people killed and 28 others injured in a mass shooting at a teen’s birthday.
“Philstavious Dowdell is my best friend,” a Dadeville High student told WVTM. “I’m just devastated by what happened.”
Dadeville High teacher and coach Mardracus Russell said his sister is a nurse with the East Alabama Medical Center.
“And she called me and told me that she thinks that a young man that I had posted on my Facebook from when we went to a Detroit University meet on Friday, she thinks that he had been killed. And it was just a devastating moment.”
Guns are the leading killer of children in America, says Biden
Monday 17 April 2023 04:19 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with local officials.
“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?” president Biden said in a statement yesterday.
“Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising - not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
The president called on Congress to “require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
‘It was chaotic’, says Dadeville mayor of mass shooting aftermath
Monday 17 April 2023 03:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Dadeville mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman said he was in bed asleep when a council member called him just before 23:00 on Saturday, The Associated Press reports.
He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.
“It was chaotic,” Mr Goodman said. “There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones. That was a scene, where we never had anything like this happen in our city before.”
More than 12 hours after the mass shooting, investigators were continuing to work the scene at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio, where a bullet hole could be seen pierced through one of the exterior windows.
Less than a block away, the American and Alabama flags were lowered to half-mast outside the Tallapoosa County Courthouse.
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell ‘always had a smile on his face’, grandmother says
Monday 17 April 2023 01:00 , Eleanor Noyce
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a Dadeville High School senior who had committed to Jacksonville State University, was celebrating at his sister Alexis’ party before he was shot to death, his grandmother Annette Allen told The Montgomery Advertiser.“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” Ms Allen told the newspaper, calling it “a million-dollar smile.”
Dowdell’s mother was among those hurt in the shooting, The Associated Press reports.
“Everybody’s grieving,” Allen said.
Alabama has ‘weak’ gun laws
Monday 17 April 2023 00:00 , Josh Marcus
Police have not yet described how the individual responsible for the Alabama shooting got their hands on a weapon.
In general, though, the state has a “weak set of gun safety protections,” according to Everytown for Gun Safety, an anti-gun violence advocacy group.
This January, it became legal in Alabama to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, meaning most people older than 18 can posess a gun without a license.
So-called “permitless carry” laws are spreading across the US.
Alex Woodward has the details.
Tennessee is among half of US states with permitless concealed carry law
‘This is also a very fluid situation’, Sergeant Burkett tells news conference
Sunday 16 April 2023 23:34 , Eleanor Noyce
“Four lives were lost in the tragic event that occurred here in Dadeville. As far as the injuries, there are 28 individuals that were injured during the course of the incident”, Sergeant Burkett told a news conference on Sunday evening.
“Now, some of those injuries are critical.
“This is also a very fluid situation. We have been getting continuous updates throughout the day. We are absolutely trying to confirm and understand everyone that was in the venue.”
Officials urge public to come forward with information, with reward offered
Sunday 16 April 2023 23:25 , Eleanor Noyce
Law enforcement officials are urging the public to come forward with information following a mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama on Saturday night.
In a news conference held on Sunday evening, Sergeant Burkett confirmed that Central Alabama Crimestoppers has offered a reward for information.
‘Today has been a tough day’, district attorney tells public as officials hold news conference
Sunday 16 April 2023 23:22 , Eleanor Noyce
Officials in Dadeville, Alabama are holding a news conference following a mass shooting on Saturday night that killed 4 people and injured 28, BBC News reports.
“Today has been a tough day,” Mike Segrest, district attorney, tells the news conference.
“There are no words to describe the emotions we are all feeling”, he adds, stating that this office is determined to “serve the victims.”
Dadeville holds vigil following mass shooting
Sunday 16 April 2023 23:10 , Eleanor Noyce
A vigil is being held close to the scene of the Dadeville mass shooting which took place at a local dance studio on Saturday evening, the BBC reports.
Ben Hayes, a senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dadeville, told CNN: “We are going to pull through it well, we have a vigil soon, the community is coming together.
“We’re going to sing, we’re going to pray, and we’re going to pray for these young people.”
‘What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?’, Biden says
Sunday 16 April 2023 22:56 , Eleanor Noyce
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?” President Joe Biden said in a statement on Sunday.
Biden called the rising gun violence in the U.S. “outrageous and unacceptable,” and urged Congress to pass laws that would make firearms manufacturers more liable for gun violence, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and require safe storage of firearms and background checks for gun sales.
Alabama shooting strains capacity in ‘small rural’ local hospitals
Sunday 16 April 2023 22:36 , Josh Marcus
The shooting Saturday night in Dadeville is straining the local community’s hospital capacity.
In addition to the four people who were killed, at least 15 were injured.
A spokesperson for the city of about 3,000’s only hospital said at least 15 teenagers were treated there for gunshot wounds, The Washington Post reports.
Of those 15, nine were transfered to other hopsitals to get more intensive care, Heidi Smith of Lake Martin Community Hospital total the paper, adding there are only a couple of “small rural hospitals” in the county.
Student bound for Division 1 football career among victims of Alabama party shooting
Sunday 16 April 2023 21:15 , Eleanor Noyce
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, an honours student on his way to play Division 1 college football, was among the victims of a mass shooting at a party in Alabama on Saturday that left four dead, according to a local pastor.
“It was a very sad, sad scene,” Ben Hayes, senior pastor at Dadeville First Baptist Church and team chaplain of Dadeville High School, where Dowdell played multiple sports, told AL.com. “A very rough night.”
The party where the shooting took place was reportedly a birthday celebration for Dowdell’s sister, according to the website.
The teen, one of the best football players in the state, had recently committed to playing at Jacksonville State University. He was also an accomplished track runner and basketball player.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of the senseless tragedy last night,” Jacksonville head football coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement. “He was a great young man with a bright future. My staff and I are heartbroken and hope that everyone will support his family through this difficult time.”
My colleague Josh Marcus has the full story:
Student bound for Division 1 football career among victims of Alabama party shooting
Pictured: Law enforcement work the scene the day after Dadeville shooting
Sunday 16 April 2023 19:48 , Eleanor Noyce
Pictured: The aftermath of the Dadeville, Alabama shooting
Sunday 16 April 2023 18:37 , Eleanor Noyce
FBI responded to Dadeville shooting - Reuters
Sunday 16 April 2023 18:15 , Eleanor Noyce
The FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Fifth Circuit District Attorney’s Office had also responded to the scene in Dadeville and were assisting with the investigation, according to a release from the state law enforcement agency.
“We’re going to continue to work in a very methodical way to go through this scene, to look at the facts, and ensure that justice is brought to bear for the families,” said Jeremy Burkett, a sergeant with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, at the press conference.
Biden briefed following Dadeville shooting, White House confirms
Sunday 16 April 2023 18:00 , Eleanor Noyce
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting in Dadeville, Alabama, according to AP News.
The White House confirmed that it is closely monitoring the situation, adding that it has been in touch with law enforcement in Dadeville to provide support.
How many mass shootings have there been in the US so far in 2023?
Sunday 16 April 2023 17:49 , Eleanor Noyce
According to the Gun Violence Archive, the US has suffered at least 146 mass shootings so far in 2023, the highest number at this point in the year since at least 2016.
The archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, excluding the shooter.
At 9am on Saturday - the same day as the shooting in Dadeville, Alabama - two people were killed and another four wounded in Louisville, Kentucky. Officers responded to reports of a shooting in Chickasaw Park, where two individuals were pronounced dead at the scene.
Police do not yet know who opened fire at the park, and no suspects have been named at this time.
Just days prior, a mass shooting took place at Louisville’s Old National Bank, where a gunman killed five people and wounded nine others. The bank is approximately five miles from Chickasaw Park.
‘Keep our community in your prayers’, says Dadeville police chief
Sunday 16 April 2023 17:17 , Eleanor Noyce
“The city of Dadeville is a tight-knit community, full of wonderful people. I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers. I ask you to please keep my police department in your prayers,” police chief Jonathan Floyd stated at a press conference following the shooting.
Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Raymond Porter also confirmed that grief counsellors will be visiting schools across Dadeville on Monday, ABC News reports. However, he did not confirm whether any students had been killed or injured in the attack.
“I’m also asking that you please do not let this moment define what you think of the city of Dadeville,” Chief Floyd added. “What we’re dealing with is something no community should have to endure.”
Mapped: Dadeville, Alabama
Sunday 16 April 2023 17:10 , Eleanor Noyce
Dadeville is a small, rural city in Tallapoosa County, Alabama. Around 60 miles northeast of Montgomery, it has a population of just over 3,200.
Locals consider Dadeville to be the “Heart of Lake Martin”, a man-made lake with a hydroelectric dam completed in 1929.
Dance studio had been preparing to celebrate its two-year anniversary on 29 April
Sunday 16 April 2023 16:57 , Eleanor Noyce
The shooting took place at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio on Saturday evening, witnesses told WRBL. Gunfire erupted at the party at approximately 10:30pm.
According to the studio’s Facebook page, it had been preparing to celebrate its two-year anniversary on 29 April with a Michael Jackson-themed showcase of pop, rock and soul.
“This show will be filled with lots of sass, flare, and a guaranteed ROCKIN’ good time!”, one post wrote.
Dadeville community doing ‘our best to cope with it’, says mayor
Sunday 16 April 2023 16:50 , Eleanor Noyce
Dadeville’s mayor, Jimmy “Frank” Goodman, said that the residents were “in shock” and that they were “doing our best to cope with it.”
“We’re just trying to make do,” he told ABC News.
The mass shooting is the latest in a violent spring across the southern US. In late March, a woman shot and killed six people at a private school in Nashville, including three nine-year-old children.
A few weeks later a mass shooter in Louisville, Kentucky, killed six people and injured nine others at his workplace.
First Baptist Church pastor spends night with victims’ families
Sunday 16 April 2023 16:40 , Eleanor Noyce
Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, said he spent the night with the families of the victims, according to ABC News.
Family members of the victims reportedly told Mr Haynes that an argument inside the party sparked the shooting, and that there were more than 50 people at the party when the violence broke out.
The situation is under active investigation by the ALEA’s State Bureau of Investigations, the Dadeville Police Department, and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office.
“Violent crime has no place in our state”, says state governor
Sunday 16 April 2023 16:34 , Eleanor Noyce
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” Alabama state governor Kay Ivey tweeted following the incident.
“Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
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.
— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) April 16, 2023
Four dead, at least 16 others injured after mass shooting at Alabama ‘Sweet 16’ party
Sunday 16 April 2023 16:30 , Eleanor Noyce
Four people were killed and at least 16 others were wounded in Dadeville, Alabama, over the weekend after a “Sweet 16” birthday party turned violent.
The party took place Saturday night at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio, witnesses told WRBL.
Gunfire erupted at the party around 10:30pm, injuring more than 20 people. Witnesses told the news broadcaster that most of the more than 20 victims are teens, though that information has not been confirmed by law enforcement.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed that four people died in the mass shooting, according to AL.com. No further information on their identities or the details of the shooting were provided. No arrests were announced, and no further information on the whereabouts of the shooter were provided.
Numerous families have reportedly gathered to wait outside area hospitals where their loved ones are presumably being treated.
Four dead, at least 16 injured after mass shooting at Alabama ‘Sweet 16’ party
Sunday 16 April 2023 16:28 , Eleanor Noyce
Good afternoon, and welcome to The Independent’s live blog on the shooting in Dadeville, Alabama. Follow as we provide live updates.
