Alabama Birthday Party Mass Shooting carnage

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At least four people were killed Saturday night in a shooting at a celebration in Alabama, according to law enforcement.

Witnesses said the gathering where the shooting occurred was a 16th birthday party at Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville.

Investigators told Nexstar’s WRBL a suspected altercation led to a shooting around 10:30 p.m. Witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots and people running and screaming from the building.

The total number of people shot was initially reported as more than 20. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) State Bureau of Investigations, which confirmed the deaths Sunday morning, did not give an updated number of people injured.

The injured were transported to local hospitals for medical attention Saturday night.
Details about the suspect(s) or motives have not yet been released by authorities.

Ten hours after the shooting, crime scene tape still surrounded the dance studio. A tarp hung over the glass front door and white sheets could be seen inside covering the floor. Several yellow police placards littered the front sidewalk.

Dadeville, which has a population of about 3,200 people, is in east Alabama, about 57 miles northeast of Montgomery, Alabama.

28 injured, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says
The number of people injured during the course of the incident is 28, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Sunday.

Some of those injuries are critical, and there's a wide variety of injures, according to the ALEA.

Authorities didn't mention a suspect or suspects, or an arrest, as of Sunday evening. Police said earlier in the day there was "no public safety risk at this time."

Central Alabama Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for any information.

Star high school athlete killed in shooting
One of the four people killed in the mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama, was a star high school football player and track team member, his coach told ABC News.

Philstavious "Phil" Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School, had committed to attending Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship, said coach Roger McDowell.

A pair of teenage brothers were arrested in connection with a shooting that left four people dead and 32 injured at a weekend Sweet 16, authorities said Wednesday.

The boys, 16-year-old Travis McCullough and 17-year-old Ty Reik McCullough from Tuskegee, were taken into custody on charges of reckless murder on Tuesday night, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Jeremy Burkett told reporters.

The teens are being charged as adults.

Four people remained hospitalized and listed in critical condition on Wednesday, officials said.

Fifth Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest struggled to maintain his composure, thinking of Alexis Dowdell, the birthday girl whose brother was among those killed.

Police said they’re at the early stages of the probe and are still in great need of the public's help, especially from party guests who have yet to speak to investigators.

“If you were at the venue that night — so you were physically at the venue — if you have not come forward, meaning you have not contacted law enforcement, please hear me, I absolutely want you to do that,” Burkett said. “We need you to come forward for the families, for these victims."

Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd also pleaded for the public's help and patience, saying the complicated probe can't be rushed.

"If we hurry, if we're careless and we do make an arrest but it doesn't result in a conviction, it does not result in ultimate justice for our victims, then we've failed our victims," Floyd said. "Please be patient, please be understanding."

A fourth and fifth man were arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama that left four people dead and dozens more injured, authorities said.

Johnny Letron Brown, a 20-year-old resident of Tuskegee, was charged with four counts of reckless murder, according to a statement by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

The agency also announced the arrest of Willie George Brown Jr., 19, of Auburn. He was also charged with four counts of reckless murder, the state police said.

Tyreese "Ty Reik" McCullough, 17, and his brother Travis McCullough, 16, who both also live in Tuskegee, were arrested Tuesday night, while Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.

Johnny Letron Brown has a clean criminal record and is set to go to Faulkner University in the fall to play NAIA football, his mother, Amanda Riley, said

Investigators on Thursday charged a sixth person with reckless murder in connection with a deadly shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party, saying in court documents they believe gunmen shot into the crowd during the celebration.

Investigators said in court documents filed Thursday that they believe five of those charged were present at the party on April 15 and “discharged firearms into the crowd,” resulting in the deaths of four people.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Thursday night announced the arrest of a 15-year-old juvenile from Tuskegee, Alabama, the sixth person charged in the case, but court records were not released because of the person’s age.