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Monday, April 17, 2023

32 casualties recorded in Alabama birthday party mass shooting

Thirty-two people were shot at a birthday party held at the weekend in an Alabama city

• April 17, 2023
Alabama mass shooting scene (Credit: ABC News)
Alabama mass shooting scene (Credit: ABC News)

Thirty-two people were shot at a birthday party held at the weekend in an Alabama city.

The mass shooting occurred at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio, about 60 miles from Dadeville in Alabama.

Jeremy Burkett, the spokesperson for Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, said four people were killed and 28 others wounded.

“There were four lives tragically lost in this incident, and there have been a multitude of injuries,” Mr Burket said. “There was a “wide variety of injuries that were sustained” during the incident, and some of the victims remain in critical condition.”

Keenan Cooper, the DJ at the birthday party when the shooting began, said one of the victims killed was Philstavious Dowdell – a Stellar High School football player and the birthday girl’s brother.

“Dowdell was about to graduate high school next month and earned a scholarship to play football at Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama,” Mr Cooper said.

Jacksonville State head coach, Rich Rodriguez, issued a statement Sunday, mourning Mr Dowdell’s death.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of the senseless tragedy last night,” Mr Rodriguez said.

The injured were taken to Dadeville’s Lake Martin Community Hospital, while some have been treated and released.

“The remaining nine have been transferred to other medical facilities. At last check, five of those teens were in critical condition, and four were in stable condition,” Heidi Smith, spokesperson for the hospital, said on Sunday.

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