5th person charged with murder in mass shooting at Alabama Sweet 16 party
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A fourth and fifth person have been arrested in connection with the mass shooting at a Saturday birthday party in Alabama that killed four and wounded 32 others, law enforcement announced Thursday.
Willie George Brown Jr., 19, of Auburn and Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee, were arrested and charged Thursday with four counts of reckless murder, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.
Reckless murder is a Class A felony with a punishment range of 10 to 99 years in prison.
The arrest comes after two teen brothers and a 20-year-old man were arrested and charged on the same counts earlier this week.
Alabama Sweet 16 party: Third person charged with murder in mass shooting
Questions remain about what motivated the shooting, which happened after 10:30 p.m. Saturday at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in Dadeville, a town of about 3,200 people about 57 miles northeast of Montgomery.
In a news conference Wednesday, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the ALEA declined to answer questions about why the public was not informed about possible suspects at large.
ALEA said that pistol-caliber empty shell casings were recovered at the scene and that no high-powered rifle round empty shell casings were found.
District Attorney Mike Segrest on Wednesday said the counts the suspects face are for the four fatalities and that more charges are likely.
Four people who were shot at the party were in critical condition Wednesday, Segrest said.
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Histon reported from Montgomery, Alabama. Hauck reported from Chicago.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Birthday party shooting in Alabama: 5th person charged with murder
