Saturday night gunfire put a stop to the “sweet 16” birthday party as 4 people were killed and 32 injured at the Alabama birthday party. Two of the victims went to Dadeville High School, two people of the 485 students lives were lost. The shooting happened around 10:24p.m. Saturday, at a dance studio. Keenan Cooper, the DJ that was at the party said the party was stopped for a few minutes because the partygoers said someone had a gun. The people with guns were asked to leave but no one left.

One victim was named Philstavious Dowdell, a Dadeville football player who had recently committed to Jacksonville State University to play as the wide receiver. The birthday party was held for his sister. His sister, Alexis Dowdell said that her brother died trying to protect her. “I guess he tried to push me out the door as fast as he could, but I ended up slipping on blood, because it was a whole bunch of blood on the floor,” she stated.

The second victim was named Keke Nicole Smith, who was a senior at Dadeville High School. She was the manager of the basketball and track field teams. She played volleyball and softball until her junior year when she had a knee injury.

The two remaining victims were identified as Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19 and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, of Dadeville. Collins was a 19 year old musician who was looking forward to attending LSU. He graduated from Opelika High School in 2022 then was taking a year to focus on his music career.

Holston did not attend the party but went to check on a younger family member because they were concerned there was trouble. “Out of concern for other family members, Corbin responded to the party to ensure their safety but unfortunately encountered the suspects,” his mother said.

From what has been revealed there were multiple shooters but they don’t have suspects as of right now.