UPDATED 4/18, 8:15 p.m. ET: Officials have identified the four people killed Saturday night in a mass shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama: KeKe Nicole Smith, 17; Philstavious Dowdell, 18; Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19; and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23.
As pointed out by Vox, Saturday’s tragedy resulted in the highest number of injuries of any mass shooting this year, as 32 people have been confirmed injured, up from the 28 first reported on Sunday.
As of Tuesday, law enforcement has not yet released any information related to the shooter or their motive. Dadeville Mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman has requested witnesses to come forward to help assist authorities with the investigation.
“Our law enforcement agencies need our help,” he said. “This is our city, these are our people. The way to show our love is to get involved the right way and talk with law enforcement.”
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It was a bloody scene at Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio on Saturday when what should have been a night of celebration for a Sweet 16 turned into a mass shooting leaving at least four dead and 28 injured.
The town of Dadeville, Alabama was shaken Saturday night when 17 ambulances arrived at the scene just after 10:30 p.m.
Heidi Smith, who handles marketing for Ivy Creek Healthcare, says the local hospital treated at least 15 gunshot victims. Per NPR, others who were injured had been transferred to additional hospitals with more being flown to a trauma center in Birmingham.
In a statement from Gov. Kay Ivey on Twitter, she said, “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.
Ben Hayes, a senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville told ABC News that he was at a local hospital with the families of those who’d been killed and injured. According to Hayes, the shooting was because of tempers flaring during a verbal altercation.
People came to celebrate Annette Allen’s granddaughter. Those in attendance included her brother (Allen’s grandson) and her mother (Allen’s daughter). Unfortunately, Allen’s grandson was among the casualties from Saturday’s shootings, while Allen’s daughter was seriously injured.
“This is a small community and they just wanted to enjoy the birthday party,” Allen told NPR’s member station Troy Public Radio. “We had to be standing and waiting for bodies to brought out.”
Dadeville has a small population of roughly 3,000 people.
Haynes says most of the victims were teenagers. “One of the young men that was killed was one of our star athletes and just a great guy,” he said. “I knew many of these students. Dadeville is a small town and this is going to affect everybody in this area.”
There have been at least 163 mass shootings in the U.S. this year. Earlier on Saturday, there was a shooting in Louisville, Kentucky that killed two and injured four.
