Dadeville mass shooting: Days later, law enforcement has not released details on a suspect
Through Monday morning, no information had been released through law enforcement about a suspect or suspects, any arrests made, weapons used or a possible motive in Saturday night’s mass shooting in Dadeville that left four dead and 28 injured.
The names and ages of the dead had not been released. Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency handled information in three news conferences held Sunday in Dadeville but took no questions. He has stressed the “fluid” nature of the investigation and asked for information from the public.
“Even the smallest detail can be important,” Burkett said at a 5 p.m. Sunday news conference.
But law enforcement officials said early Sunday that a public safety emergency did not exist in Dadeville.
That was confusing to Erica Jackson, a Dadeville resident who attended the 5 p.m. conference, held in the back parking lot of the Tallapoosa County Courthouse.
“I was hoping to hear that they had the people responsible,” she said. “We need to know. Are they still out there? Why won’t anybody tell us anything?”
More: Dadeville victim attends vigil in hospital gown, details shooting
Area law enforcement agencies in the state have also gotten little information through the usual official channels. There have been no "be on the lookout," or BOLO, bulletins sent to police departments or sheriff's offices in the state listing physical description of a suspect or suspects, or any other details for internal law enforcement use.
On Sunday, Pastor Fred Hutcherson, of Zion Hill Baptist Church, asked the gathering to inform law enforcement if they know anything.
“This is our city, these are our people,” he said. “The way to show our love is to get involved the right way and talk with law enforcement. Social media is not the place for it.”
That plea was echoed by Dadeville Mayor Jimmy “Frank” Goodman.
“Our law enforcement agencies need our help,” he said Sunday afternoon.
Along with the Dadeville Police Department and Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office, the case is being worked by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI.
According to the Associated Press/USA Today/ Northeastern University mass killing data base, the Dadeville shooting is the 16th mass killing event in the nation this year. That ties the number at this point during the years 2008 and 2009. Also, the last three mass killings happened in public spaces: a school (Nashville, Tenn.), a bank (Louisville, Ky.), and a dance studio (Dadeville), said James Alan Fox, Lipman Family Professor of Criminology, Law & Public Policy at Boston’s Northeastern University. Fox manages the database.
“And in just a span of three weeks. That is unusual as well,” he said.
The database, which tracks mass shootings as well as other mass causality events, shows that since 2006 there have been 546 mass killing events resulting in 2,838 deaths.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Dadeville shooting: Days later, no details released about suspect
