Alabama shooting: 5th person charged with murder for birthday party violence
Willie George Brown Jr., 19, of Auburn, was arrested and formally charged with four counts of reckless murder.
DADEVILLE, Ala. - Law enforcement officials have arrested a fifth person in connection to the mass shooting during an Alabama Sweet 16 birthday party that left four people dead and dozens injured.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Thursday arrested 19-year-old Willie George Brown Jr., of Auburn, and charged him as part of their investigation into the shooting.
Earlier in the day, authorities announced the arrest of 20-year-old Johnny Letron Brown of Tuskegee.
The pair join 17-year-old Tyreese "Ty Reik" McCullough, 16-year-old Travis McCullough of Tuskegee and 20-year-old Wilson LaMar Hill Jr. of Auburn in custody. All five men have been charged with four counts of reckless murder. 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.
Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency declined at a news conference Wednesday 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," Burkett said. "We can’t share that."
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.
"We’re going to make sure all those victims have justice, not just the deceased," District Attorney Mike Segrest said.
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.
Investigators say 18-year-old Phil Dowdell, 23-year-old Corbin Holston, 19-year-old Marsiah Collins, and 17-year-old KeKe Smith were killed in the gunfire. Another 32 people were rushed to hospitals across the region for injuries ranging from minor to critical.
Dowdell's mother LaTonya Allen said at least the first three suspects were not invited to the party and her daughter "didn’t know them," but they might have come with someone else as word of the party spread on social media.
Allen said she didn’t know how the shooting happened, but that she knew her son was gone once she saw him on the floor surrounded by blood. "My daughter was kneeling beside him. He was trying to say something to her but he couldn’t," she said.
The shootings Saturday night rocked the small town of Dadeville, about 80 miles southeast of Birmingham, and families suddenly found themselves planning memorials and burial services instead of graduation parties or college move-ins.
Investigators say 18-year-old Phil Dowdell, 23-year-old Corbin Holston, 19-year-old Marsiah Collins, and 17-year-old KeKe Smith were killed in the gunfire.
WHO WERE THE VICTIMS KILLED IN THE DADEVILLE MASS SHOOTING?
Those from the small town watched as police announced the arrests Wednesday.
"I'm grateful that justice will be done and I'm glad they got somebody," said Natasha Jackson.
"I'm happy to hear that two of them have been arrested. It's still the fact that Phil and KeKe are not here," said AJ Coker.
Four people were killed and 32 others were injured in a mass shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama on April 15, 2023. (FOX 5)
The shooting was the 16th mass killing in the U.S. this year. A 17th took place in Maine on Tuesday. A total of 88 people have died in the killings so far in 2023. A mass killing is defined as the slaying of four or more people other than the perpetrator, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
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 if the four arrested men 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."
Dadeville Alabama on map
Meanwhile, the families of the four killed in the shooting are planning memorials and funerals as the public learns about their lives cut way too short.
Four people were killed and 32 others were injured in a mass shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama on April 15, 2023. (FOX 5)
ALEA has asked for anyone with information to call 800-392-8011 or email sbi.investigations@alea.gov.
Dadeville is located about 57 miles northeast of Montgomery, Alabama and 53 miles northwest of Columbus, Georgia.
This story is being reported out of Atlanta. The Associated Press contributed to this report