US

Three arrested over fatal shooting at birthday party in Alabama

Two teenagers, who will be tried as adults, and a 20-year-old charged over incident that left four dead in Dadeville

Flowers and balloons were placed outside the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama. Photograph: Kimberly Chandler/AP

Thu Apr 20 2023 - 06:52

Two teenagers and a 20-year-old man have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with a shooting that killed four young people at a 16th birthday party in the US state of Alabama.

District attorney Mike Segrest said Ty Reik McCullough (17) and Travis McCullough (16), both of Tuskegee, would be tried as adults as is automatically required in Alabama for anyone 16 or older charged with murder.

Investigators said that Wilson LaMar Hill Jr (20), of Auburn, was arrested on the same charge.

Mr Segrest said prosecutors would ask a judge to hold the three accused without bail. Online court records do not show any previous adult charges in state court for either of the arrested teenagers.

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Saturday’s violence shocked Dadeville, a sleepy town of 3,200 about 45 minutes from Tuskegee.

Those killed were: Phil Dowdell, a brother of birthday girl Alexis Dowdell, who had planned to play college football; KeKe Smith (17), an athlete-turned-team manager; Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins (19), an aspiring singer who planned to start college this autumn; and 2018 Dadeville High graduate Corbin Dahmontrey Holston (23), another former athlete.

Another 32 people were wounded and Mr Segrest said four were still in a critical condition. He said more charges would be coming. “We’re going to make sure all those victims have justice, not just the deceased,” he told reporters in front of the town courthouse.

Multiple shooters

The gunfire broke out at a birthday party for Alexis Dowdell at a dance studio just off the town’s courthouse square. Witnesses said multiple people began shooting some time after Alexis’s mother paused the celebration to ask people with guns to leave.

A family member of KeKe Smith said she was thankful for the arrests.

“It don’t make the hurt any easier. But we are relieved that they (the suspects) are not out in the community,” Amy Jackson said.

Sgt Jeremy J Burkett, of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said: “We can’t get into a motive right now, because that would be part of an ongoing investigation.”

Mr Holston had gone to the party to check on a younger family member who feared trouble, his mother Janett Heard told AL.com.

Relatives told the news outlet that the shooting began shortly after Mr Holston arrived, and that he pulled his younger relative to safety. In 2020, Alabama had the fifth highest rate of gun deaths in the country, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. - AP

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