4 people were shot dead and at least 28 were injured in a mass shooting at a party in Dadeville, Alabama.
Tragedy struck a small town in Alabama when several people were injured and killed in a mass shooting that is reported to have happened during a teenager’s sweet 16 birthday party.
Shots were fired for 5 continuous minutes just after 10:30 p.m. on Saturday at a dance studio near Broadnax Street.
According to the police, the birthday party was for a football player’s sister. Authorities were called for a shooting at a sweet 16 birthday party in the area of E Green Street and N Broadnax Street in Dadeville, a small city in Tallapoosa County.
Victims are still in critical condition.
The party was paused when people heard gunshots being fired. The shooters were asked to leave, but they paid no attention to their request and opened fire on the attendees an hour later. Some people managed to escape while the others took refuge under a table.
28 people have sustained various types of injuries. Some of them were in a critical condition, while six of the victims have been released and nine of them have been transferred to other hospitals.
Residents mourn the death of the teenagers.
Hundreds of people gathered at the Baptist Church in Danville to mourn the victims. People were seen hugging and crying as they held onto one another.
One of the victims Taniya Cox attended the vigil in a hospital gown with her right arm in a cast. She said she was shot twice when she ran in front of a bullet. She said that there were shooters in the back of the room as well. She was threatened with getting shot if she did not get out of their way.
The county school has offered to hold counselling sessions today for the student, and a prayer vigil was held yesterday for the victims.
The American and Alabama flags were lowered to half-mast outside the county courthouse.
A beloved high-school athlete loses his life in the shooting.
Out of the several people who lost their lives, there was Philstavious Dowdell, the brother of the birthday girl and a marvellous football player.
Phil Dowdell had recently committed to playing wide receiver at Jacksonville State University. He was one of the best players in the state and the school. He was considered a hometown hero.
Another victim who was murdered was fellow Dadeville High School senior and former athlete KeKe Nicole Smith.
Increase in number of mass shootings
This incident is the second mass shooting in the city in a week. On the same day that this incident occurred, two people were killed and four were injured at a park in Louisville, Kentucky, when bullets were fired into the crowd.
Last week, a Louisville bank employee opened fire at his workplace with a rifle, taking the lives of five people.
There have been 160 mass shootings across the US in just the past 4 months. Research shows that the percentage of mass shootings has significantly increased in the past few years.
President Joe Biden, when briefed on the Alabama shooting, called the situation “outrageous and unacceptable” . He called on Congress to take steps to prevent such incidents. Safe storage of firearms and a background check for the purchase of guns are some of the steps to be taken.
