Four individuals were killed and 32 were injured in the shooting at the 16th birthday party. Tuesday saw the beginning of the arrests. Four counts of reckless murder have been filed against all six accused. There has been no word from the police regarding a possible motive for the shooting.
Nor have police provided many specifics about that evening’s events. The party for the young lady turning sixteen was held in a dance studio in Dadeville, a relatively tiny city. The birthday girl’s brother was one of the victims.
Willie George Brown Jr., 19, Johnny Letron Brown, 20, and an unidentified 15-year-old were all detained on Thursday. Twenty-year-old Wilson LaMar Hill was arrested on Wednesday. Tuesday’s arrests began with Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and his brother Travis McCullough, 16.
The McCullough brothers and Johnny Letron Brown are from Tuskegee, officials said, which is about a 40-minute drive from the Dadeville crime scene. It takes around 30 minutes to get from Auburn, where LaMar Hill and Willie George Brown Jr. are from, to Dadeville.
All murder suspects in the state must be tried as adults, which means the teenage boys will be tried as adults. According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, all of the accused save the 15-year-old are being held without bond.
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Amanda Riley, Johnny Letron Brown’s mother, told NBC that her son does not have a criminal history and plans to play American football at Faulkner University this fall. “He didn’t do any shooting. When the firearms started firing off, he got down on the floor,” Ms Riley said.
“My kids don’t carry weapons, I’m going to tell you that right now. The FBI just searched my house. They couldn’t find one weapon in my house. They didn’t find one bullet in my house and in my shed out back.”
Officials told reporters Wednesday that the inquiry is only getting started. District Attorney Mike Segrest said: “I know that there has been some frustration among our community and among media about a lack of information that has been provided up to this point.”
Officials reported finding handgun round casings at the scene, and they also noted the absence of evidence suggesting the use of a high-powered weapon. On Wednesday, authorities said that four of the injured were still in severe condition in hospitals.
“We are going to make sure every one of those victims has justice and not just the deceased,” said Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). The agency added: “These individuals have been charged after a complex and thorough investigation was conducted with assistance from a multitude of law enforcement agencies.”
Marsiah Collins, 19, Phil Dowdell, 18, Corbin Holston, 23, and Shaunkivia Smith, 17, have all been named as victims. Mr. Dowdell, according to his family, gave his life trying to save his sister Alexis. He had been expected to graduate high school and use his football scholarship at Jacksonville State University.
A fellow football player on his team said this about him to the BBC: “Phil to me was an amazing friend.” Heaven has an angel. Located around 60 miles (100 km) north-east of Montgomery, Dadeville is a small town with a population of around 3000.
Sgt. Burkett has asked anyone who attended the party to report any suspicious activity to the police. “We need you to come forward for these families, for these victims,” he said. The attack over the weekend brought the total number of mass shootings in the United States this year to above 160, as defined by the Gun Violence Archive as incidents in which four or more people are shot.
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