A sweet 16 party turned deadly last Saturday when a gunman opened fire killing four people and injuring 32 others. Among those killed was Philstavious Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School in Alabama who earned a football scholarship to attend Jacksonville State University in nearby Jacksonville, Alabama.
Keenan Cooper, who was DJ’ing the party, didn’t notice any disturbance until shots were fired. He feels for the victims.
“It’s really sad to see all the kids that were shot and the ones that are deceased,” Cooper told CNN. “And seeing all those bodies at the front door, all those kids are probably going to be traumatized.”
The gunfire erupted around 10:34 p.m. Saturday at a venue in downtown Dadeville.
Police did not provide any additional details about the 32 people injured. But Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett said some of them were critically injured.
“There were four lives tragically lost in this incident, and there’s been a multitude of injuries,” Burkett said. “Please understand this is also a very fluid situation. We have been getting continuous updates throughout the day and we are absolutely trying to confirm and understand everyone that was in the venue there.”
The four victims along with Dowdell, are: Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, a 23-year-old male from Dadeville. Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, a 19-year-old male from Opelika, Alabama, and Shaunkivia (KeKe) Nicole Smith, a 17-year-old female, also a senior at Dadeville High School.
One Of The Victims Was The Older Brother Of The Birthday Girl
According to reports, Latonya Allen was chaperoning her daughter’s sweet 16 party when whispers started spreading that someone had a gun. Allen briefly stopped the party, turned the lights on and announced that anyone over 18 had to leave.
Phil Dowdell was Allen’s 18-year-old son and Alexis Dowdell’s brother.
“(Alexis Dowdell) got down on her knees and we’re holding him. He was just bloody,” Allen told CBS News. “She was saying, you know, kept telling him, ‘Wake up, Phil, wake up.’ He was trying to say something, but by that time he couldn’t say anything else. And he stopped breathing.”
Alexis said that her big brother’s final act was to shield her from the gunfire.
“If it wasn’t for him, I mean, I don’t know where I’d be,” Alexis said. “I don’t know if I would still be standing here today if he would never save my life.”
Heartbreaking.
Gun Violence Is An Epidemic
The issue is, and remains, guns. This country’s obsession and fascination with the right to own killing machines is an epidemic.
More than 45,000 people are killed annually in the United States due to gun violence. The U.S. has suffered more than 160 mass shootings in the first 16 weeks of this year. Last year an additional 38,500 people were injured due to guns, according to Gun Violence Archive.
President Joe Biden asked a series of rhetorical questions about the incident. But at this point, what good is that? Something needs to be done by our government.
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” Biden said.
No suspects have been identified.
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