4 killed, 28 injured in shooting during Alabama teen’s party: reports

A “Sweet 16’’ party turned into bloody mayhem in Alabama on Saturday night when a gunman fatally shot four people, including the birthday girl’s star-athlete brother, and wounded 28 others.

At least 15 teens were among those shot, with five severely wounded — some so critical that they had to be airlifted from the tiny town of Dadeville to a trauma center about 90 miles away for treatment, officials said.

Local high-school football stand-out Phil Dowdell, whose sister Alexis was the birthday girl, died, while his mother was among the wounded, suffering two gunshot wounds, the Montgomery Advertiser said.

“Everybody is grieving,’’ Dowdell’s shattered grandmother, Annette Allen, told the outlet.

Local pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as chaplain of the Dadeville Police Department and the local high school football team, said the entire town is “sad, traumatized, in shock.’’

The violence occurred around 10:30 p.m. at the Mohagany Masterpiece dance studio downtown, about 60 miles outside the state capital of Montgomery.

Police have not revealed any information on the suspect other than to say the shooter is no longer a threat to the community.

They also have yet to reveal a motive, only imploring the public to come forward with what they know.

“We’ve got to have information from the community,” Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Jeremy Burkett said at a Sunday night briefing.

Hayes said the shooting involved some kind of dispute beforehand but it was unclear over what.

After the bloodshed, frantic parents in the town of barely 3,000 went from hospital to hospital to try to locate their kids.

Six of the shot teens were treated at a local hospital and released, while nine others were transferred to different facilities, with five in critical condition and four stable, officials said. ​

Some of the most critically hurt had to be flown to a trauma center in Birmingham, hospital officials said.

​An e​motional Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd ​said at a morning press conference,​ “I ask you to please keep our community in your prayer​s” while ​calling the city “full of wonderful people.

“I ask you to keep my police department in your prayers. Please do not let this moment define what you think of the City of Dadeville and our fine people. What we’ve dealt with is something no community should have to endure,” he said.

President Biden said in a statement, “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?” he said, also decrying another Saturday night shooting that left two people dead in a Louisville park.

“Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining,” the president said. “This is outrageous and unacceptable. Americans agree and want lawmakers to act on commonsense gun safety reforms.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey decried the violence in a tweet, writing, “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.”

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been assisting the Dadeville Police Department, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office.

The tragedy comes hours after Louisville experienced its third mass shooting in the last week.

With Post wires