Six suspects have now been arrested over the mass shooting at a “Sweet 16” birthday party that left four people dead and 32 injured in Dadeville, Alabama.
On Thursday, authorities announced that three more suspects were taken into custody including a 15-year-old who has not been named due to his age.
The other two suspects were named as Johnny Letron Brown, 20, and Willie George Brown Jr., 19.
Their arrests bring the total number of people arrested over the shooting to six after Wilson LaMar Hill Jr, 20, and brothers Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, were taken into custody earlier this week.
All suspects have been booked into the Tallapoosa County Jail. They are facing four counts of reckless murder, but more charges are expected to come as at least 32 other people were injured during the violence, Tallapoosa County District Attorney Mark Segrest said on Wednesday.
The developments follow an investigation by the Dadeville Police Department, the ALEA, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the FBI. ALEA Sgt Jeremy Burkett said during a press conference on Wednesday that a motive for the shooting has been determined, but details will not be shared with the public at this time.
“Please understand, with the violence that went on and the magnitude of what happened, we are absolutely still in the early stages of the investigation,” Sgt Burkett said. “This is the beginning, this is not the end. There is a tremendous amount of work that is yet to be done.”
It is unclear how many suspects are being sought in the investigation. The first announcements of arrests came on Wednesday, following three days of speculation as officials refused to provide any updates or hold press conferences before finally announcing the arrests.
The shootings Saturday night rocked the small town of Dadeville, about 80 miles southeast of Birmingham, and families suddenly found themselves planning memorials and burial services instead of graduation parties or college move-ins.
The victims killed were identified on Monday as Keke Nicole Smith, 17, Phil Dowdell, 18, Marsiah Collins, 19 and Corbin Holston, 23. Four victims remain hospitalised in critical condition on Wednesday.
The gunfire broke out at a birthday party for Dowdell’s sister Alexis Dowdell, which was being held at a dance studio just off the town’s courthouse square. Witnesses had said multiple people began shooting sometime after Dowdell’s mother paused the celebration to ask people with guns to leave.
“We are going to make sure every victim gets justice, not just the deceased,” Mr Segrest said. “Even though these are 16 and 17-year-olds, we are going to charge them as adults.”
Authorities have asked anyone who has video or photos of the moments leading up to the violence to submit that evidence here.
