A mass shooting left four dead and injured at least 28 people at a Sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday.
The four victims died of gunshot wounds, Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox confirmed to PEOPLE. Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, Philstavious Dowdell, 18, Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19 and Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17, all attended the party held at a dance studio.
The shooting occurred at around 10:30 p.m. and left dozens of other attendees injured, including some still in critical condition, according to The Associated Press.
“It’s really sad to see all the kids that were shot and the ones that are deceased,” Keenan Cooper, the DJ at the party, told CNN.
Cooper added that most will probably be traumatized after being witnesses to the shooting.
My son was killed last night in #DadevilleAlabama his name is Marsiah COLLINS. He was accepted to LSU took a year off and was going to enter in the fall but now he’s dead… pic.twitter.com/hG5qhlK3yR
— Martin Edward (@KardinalLaw) April 16, 2023
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has yet to make an arrest. Police indicated they have “strong leads” but haven’t released information concerning a suspect or motive behind the shooting, CNN reported.
Dadeville’s police chief and state officials asked anyone with pictures or information from the scene to bring it forward.
“I cannot stress this enough: We absolutely need you to share it,” Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said, according to the news outlet.
The shooting is far from being an isolated incident. There have been over 160 mass shootings so far this year in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive. It defines mass shootings as incidents in which at least four people have been shot. The archive doesn’t include other occurrences of gun violence, such as the recent shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Missouri teenager who rang the wrong doorbell.
2 more Alabama Sweet 16 shooting victims identified https://t.co/splb1Z3hOe pic.twitter.com/kC4B1VzupD
— New York Post (@nypost) April 17, 2023
President Joe Biden reiterated his call for gun control reform after the shooting.
“Americans want lawmakers to act on common sense gun safety reforms,” he tweeted on April 17. “It is within Congress’ power to require safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines—and this should happen without delay,” he added.
