Alabama birthday party shooting: Three arrested, charged with murder
Saturday's shooting in Alabama was the 16th mass killing in the United States this year.
Two teenagers and a 20-year-old man were arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday (April 19) in connection with the shooting at the birthday party in Dadeville, Alabamalast Saturday (April 15) that killed four people and injured 32 others. According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), the suspects were identified as Wilson LaMar Hill Jr, 20, Ty Reik McCullough, 17 and Travis McCullough, 16. The ALEA said they were each charged with four counts of reckless murder, adding only shell casings from handguns were found, and there was no evidence a high-powered rifle was used.
Ty Reik and Travis are residents of Tuskegee while Wilson is a resident of Auburn.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Sergeant Jeremy Burkett of the ALEA declined to discuss how investigators believe the shooting unfolded. “We can’t get into a motive right now, because that would be part of an ongoing investigation. We can’t share that,” Sergeant Burkett said.
Burkett also urged people at the party to have the personal courage to tell the police what they witnessed.
District Attorney Mike Segrest, meanwhile, said that Ty Reik and Travis, despite being minors, would be prosecuted as adults."We're going to make sure every one of those victims has justice, and not just the deceased, Sergrest told reporters.
The birthday party of 16-year-old Alexis Dowdell, held at a rented dance studio in Dadeville, turned violent when the girl's mother told guests that she learned people were armed and asked them to leave, the news agency AFP reported citing local media reports.
Alexis' brother Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18, was killed and the other victims were identified as Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, Marsiah Emmanuel Collins and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston.
State and local officials have been facing criticism from the public for failing to release critical details about the shooting. This was the 16th mass killing in the United States this year.
(With inputs from agencies)
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