The small town of Dadeville, Alabama, is reeling from a mass shooting at a “Sweet 16” birthday party that left four people dead and 32 injured.
On the night of Saturday 15 April, revellers had gathered at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio – an unassuming brick building in downtown Dadeville, a town of around 3,000 residents roughly 45 miles north east of Mongomery – to wish happy birthday to Alexis Dowdell.
But a night of celebration turned to tragedy when guns were fired and four people lost their lives in the melee, among them the birthday girl’s beloved older brother Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell.
Dowdell, 18, was a high school football star and “hometown hero” who was about to graduate and who had signed on to develop his talent at Jacksonville State University.
He had reportedly sustained his fatal injury when he pushed his sister out of harm’s way.
Their mother Latonya Allen, who had been chaperoning her daughter’s party and had tried to order anyone carrying a firearm to leave earlier in the night, held her son in her arms in his final moments with Alexis at her side.
Also killed in the massacre were Shaunkivia (KeKe) Nicole Smith, 17, Marsiah Collins, 19, and Corbin Holston, 23.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is investigating the mass shooting but has so far remained tightlipped about both a suspect and a motive.
Officials have said that they do not believe there is any further threat to the community while declining to outline precisely what took place inside the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio.
No suspects or persons of interest have been named, no possible motive given and it is unclear even how many people might have been involved – or what events may have led up to the moment of the shooting.
In its latest news update, published on Monday, ALEA revised the number of people injured in the incident up from 28 and said: “After conducting a preliminary analysis of the evidence at the scene, as well as reviewing the information that has been received so far, Special Agents are still in the process of gathering information relative to the sequence of events that ultimately led to the shooting.
“Special Agents did not recover any high-powered rifle ammunition at the scene; however, they did recover numerous shell casings used in handguns. Investigators are still processing all of the evidence, in conjunction with completing interviews, in an effort to solidify a motive and potential suspects.”
Officers subsequently appealed for members of the Dadeville community with any information about the incident to come forward to help them with their inquiries.
“ALEA is asking for the public’s assistance in this case,” it said. “If you or anyone you know has information regarding this incident, please contact SBI’s Crime information hotline at 1-800-392-8011 or email at sbi.investigations@alea.gov or contact Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at 1-833-AL1-STOP or at www.215stop.com.”
Speaking to BBC News on Monday, the town’s mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman said the investigation takes time.
“I understand why they are not putting out information. It just happened Saturday and today’s just Monday. It takes time to bring things together,” he said.
“The ones who were there, they aren’t talking [to anybody else] because the authorities are talking to them.”
Earlier, Mayor Goodman had been asked by local news site AL.com about the level of concern in Dadeville in the aftermath of the shooting, given that police had yet to announce anyone being taken into custody.
“The community probably wants to make sure there’s no one around here that’s going to keep doing this,” he answered.
“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.”
Asked what it will take for the town to recover from the tragedy, Mayor Goodman said: “It’s going to take prayer. 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.”
