A fourth person has been charged with murder following the shooting deaths of four people at a Sweet 16 party in rural Alabama.
On Thursday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced the arrest of Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee. He is charged with four counts of reckless murder.
Saturday’s shooting at a 16th birthday party shocked Dadeville, a sleepy east Alabama town of 3,200.
Besides the four people killed, 32 others were injured, four of them critically. The party, at a dance studio just off the town square, was in full swing when gunfire erupted.
The day before Brown’s arrest, the agency announced that Tuskegee residents and brothers Tyreese ‘Ty Reik’ McCullough, 17, Travis McCullough, 16 and Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn, had all been charged with four counts of reckless murder.
Anybody with an information, especially videos or photos from the night in question is asked to submit them here.
On Thursday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced the arrest of Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee. He is charged with four counts of reckless murder
Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, was arrested on Wednesday in connection to the Alabama Sweet 16 massacre on April 15
Brothers Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, were also arrested for allegedly carrying out the shooting on Tuesday night
Tallapoosa County District Attorney Mike Segrest said the two teens would be tried as adults, an automatic requirement for anyone 16 or older charged with murder in Alabama.
Also on Wednesday, Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett refused to discuss a possible motive for the shooting at a press conference due to the nature of the investigation.
Alabama state law defines reckless murder as when someone causes a death by acting with extreme indifference to human life and recklessly engaging in conduct which creates a grave risk of death.
The victims have been identified as Philstavious ‘Phil’ Dowdell, 18, Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17, and Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19.
Alabama District Attorney for the Fifth District, Mike Segrest, said there were still four victims in hospital in critical condition, saying: ‘This is just the tip of the iceberg,. We’re going to make sure every one of those victims has justice and not just the deceased.’
Sgt. Burkett said: ‘Make no mistake, this is Alabama and when you pull out a gun, and you start shooting people, we’re gonna put you in jail.’
No high-powered rifle ammunition was recovered from the scene, but special agents did find numerous shell casings from handguns.
Speaking previously about a different reckless murder charge, Russell County District Attorney Kenneth Davis explained: ‘It’s sometimes called in case law having a depraved heart.
‘It means you committed an act so reckless that it endangers anyone, not just one specific person but anyone.’
Alexis Dowdell, 16, (pictured) said her brother Philstavious ‘Phil’ Dowdell, 18, was one of the four people killed at her Sweet 16th birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama on Saturday night
Dowdell had committed to play football next fall at Jacksonville State University in Florida before he died in his sister’s arms
Philstavious ‘Phil’ Dowdell of Camp Hill, was the birthday girl’s brother. He died as his sister knelt beside him begging him to keep breathing.
Alexis Dowdell told the BBC in a heartbreaking interview that her brother saved her life only to be shot himself and dying in her arms, in Dadeville, Alabama on Saturday night.
‘I told him to be strong,’ Alexis said about her final moments with her brother who was a Dadeville High School senior who had committed to Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship.
Keke Smith, 17, Marsiah Collins, 19, and Corbin Holston, 23 also lost their lives while more than two dozen others were injured at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio where the birthday party took place.
During the party, rumors spread in the crowd that someone had a gun. The DJ stopped the music and asked the person who was armed to leave, when nobody did, the party continued. Moments later, at about 10:30pm, gunshots rang out and panic ensued.
‘All of a sudden you hear gunshots and you just see everybody running towards the door and people falling and screaming,’ Alexis said in her interview.
The shooting took place Dadeville, a tiny town of 3,000 an hour’s drive from Montgomery
Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox identified the two remaining victims Monday as 19 year-old Marsiah Emmanuel ‘Siah’ Collins and Corbin Holston, 23
Senior Keke Smith, 17, was also killed in the attack
At some point, Alexis said her brother pushed her to the ground. Amid the chaos, the pair were separated. She was able to escape the venue unharmed.
When she went back inside, she discovered her brother critically wounded lying on the floor.
Alexis went on to say that her brother was extremely polite and would open doors for others and would always be the first to apologize when the siblings fought.
His mother, LaToya Allen, told the BBC that her son made her proud ‘in every way.’
‘A piece of my heart is ripped out. He was supposed to graduate next month. Instated of me going to graduation I’ll be going to the cemetery to see my son,’ she said.’
Jacksonville State football coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement Sunday: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of the senseless tragedy last night. He was a great young man with a bright future.’
Dowdell also recently won medals at a high school track meet at Troy University.
Counseling was available for students at Tallapoosa County schools Monday, said the school district superintendent, Raymond C. Porter.
‘This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,’ Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said on social media.
Flowers, balloons and two teddy bears with graduation caps and ‘Class of 2023’ sashes were piled up Wednesday outside the dance studio. Black and gold balloons and ribbons, the colors of Dadeville High, adorned local mailboxes.
Segrest said dozens of teens from nearby towns attended the party, leavin trauma to ripple across the region. ‘There were so many kids in this venue and what they saw, they’re victims in this,’ he said. ‘Their families are victims of this.’
A family member of KeKe Smith was thankful for 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 in a phone interview.
Investigators have released little information, frustrating some.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency had said only that shell casings from handguns had been found, and that there was no evidence a high-powered rifle was used. Burkett on Wednesday again appealed for information from party-goers and the public.
Segrest said they will ask that the suspects be held without bond. It was not known Wednesday afternoon if those arrested had attorneys who could comment for them.
In 2020, Alabama had the fifth highest rate of gun deaths in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
‘Somebody’s got to start thinking about mama, because I know I’m tired of it and everybody behind me is tired of it,’ Burkett said. ‘We’re tired of going to the mothers and having to tell them that these kids are not coming home.’
