At least four people were killed in a shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party on Saturday. The gun attack left at least 28 people with injuries – some critical. The shooting took place in a small town of Dadeville in the United States.
US President Joe Biden has renewed his calls for tougher gun laws in a statement released by the White House:
What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?
Small town, hidden suspect
This shooting pushes the US to a chilling milestone – over 160 mass shootings – so far this year according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Dadeville is a small, rural town, unfamiliar to scenes of violence on this scale. With a population of about 3,200 people, so little is known about the possible suspect. Nearly no details have emerged about how the shooting ended or if the suspect is dead or in custody.
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On Sunday, Sergeant Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not take questions during two news conferences. He did not confirm or deny if a suspect was in custody. He also did not provide the names of those killed reports Al Jazeera:
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
Sergeant Burkett adds:
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
Big dreams snuffed in Dadeville
Teenagers cried and shook from the shock at a vigil in Dadeville. They hug and try to comfort each other.
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Most of the victims are likely teenagers. Some Dadeville parents were reportedly searching for the children 12 hours after the shooting occurred. Among the victims is high school senior, Phil Dowdell. His grandmother told local media. The party where the shooting happened was allegedly for Dowdell’s sister at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio.
One woman at the vigil told the BBC that her cousin attended the birthday party:
THEY WERE BEING FREE, they were celebrating a life. You never think it’s going to happen in your area
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell was an honours student and star athlete. He was going to attend Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship and play Division 1 college football.
Dowdell’s mother sustained injuries from the shooting.
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The Independent shared Jacksonville head football coach Rich Rodriguez’s statement:
Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of THE SENSELESS TRAGEDY last night
The shooting in Dadeville comes just five days after a bank employee fatally shot five colleagues. He also wounded nine other people in the workplace in Louisville, Kentucky.
