Locals grieve victims of Alabama birthday shooting

DADEVILLE, Alabama — At least four people were killed and 28 wounded in a shooting that erupted during a birthday celebration at a dance studio in a town in Alabama on Saturday night, police said on Sunday.

Some of the injured were critically wounded during the shooting in Dadeville in east-central Alabama, authorities said. There was no official word on what led to the gun violence or whether a suspect has been killed or arrested.

The late-night "Sweet 16" party was being held inside the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio, converted from an old bank building located about half a block from Dadeville's city hall.

Philstavious "Phil" Dowdell, a Dadeville High School senior who had committed to Jacksonville State University, was celebrating at his sister Alexis' party before he was shot to death, his grandmother Annette Allen told the Montgomery Advertiser.

"Everybody's grieving," Allen said.

Hundreds of community members gathered early on Sunday evening in a parking lot a few blocks from the shooting scene for an outdoor prayer vigil.

"We're going to continue to work in a very methodical way to go through this scene, to look at the facts, and ensure that justice is brought to bear for the families," Jeremy Burkett, a sergeant with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said.

Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as chaplain for both the Dadeville Police Department and the local high school football team, said most of the victims are teenagers. Dowdell was within weeks of graduation and faced a bright future, Hayes said.

This is at least the second time in recent years that multiple people were shot in Dadeville. Five people were wounded in July 2016 during a shooting at an American Legion hall.

The bloodshed in Alabama marked the third high-profile mass shooting in as many weeks in the US South, following separate outbreaks of deadly gun violence in Tennessee and Kentucky that prompted local leaders to call for tighter gun control measures.

Dadeville Mayor Frank Goodman said he was in bed asleep that night when a council member called him just before 11 pm. He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital, where some of the people who had been shot were taken.

"It was chaotic," Goodman said. "There were people running around. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find out about their loved ones."

US President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support.

Agencies via Xinhua