Third person charged with murder in mass shooting at Alabama Sweet 16 party

Marty Roney and Grace Hauck, USA TODAY
·4 min read
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DADEVILLE, Ala. – Two teen brothers and a 20-year-old man have been arrested and charged with murder in connection to a mass shooting at a Sweet 16 party in Alabama that killed four people and wounded dozens more, officials announced Wednesday.

Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, both of Tuskegee, were arrested Tuesday in nearby Macon County and charged with four counts of reckless murder in the Saturday shooting at a Dadeville birthday party that also injured 32, officials said at a press conference.

A third man, Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and faces the same charges, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced.

The teen brothers are being charged as adults, District Attorney Mike Segrest said. The suspects will get a bond hearing within 72 hours, and the state plans to request no bond, officials said.

Reckless murder is a Class A felony with a punishment range of 10 to 99 years in prison. In Alabama, juveniles 16 and older are automatically charged as adults for such felonies.

Alabama shooting: Birthday girl begged dying brother to 'stay with me'

Four victims of Dadeville mass shooting remain in critical condition

Four people who were shot at the party are in critical condition, Segrest said. "We're going to make sure every one of those victims has justice, and not just the deceased," Segrest said.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Jeremy Burkett, right, District Attorney Mike Segrest, center, and Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd, left, speak on Wednesday April 19, 2023, during a joint press conference on the fatal shooting in Dadeville, Ala.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Jeremy Burkett, right, District Attorney Mike Segrest, center, and Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd, left, speak on Wednesday April 19, 2023, during a joint press conference on the fatal shooting in Dadeville, Ala.

Law enforcement officials made the announcement on the steps of the Tallapoosa County Courthouse, a block from the site of the shooting. Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency declined to answer questions about why the public was not initially informed about possible suspects at large.

Investigators said the shooting began shortly after 10:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in Dadeville, a town of approximately 3,200 people about 57 miles northeast of Montgomery. Police have not said what led to the shooting.

Late Monday, 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.

Murder charges 'the tip of the iceberg'

The counts the suspects face are for the four fatalities, Segrest said. More charges are likely, including charges related to the 32 victims who were injured, officials said.

"These arrests are the tip of the iceberg, the very beginning," Dadeville police Chief Johnathan Floyd said. "We have one chance to get it right. We are going to make sure and be very slow and very methodical. Making an arrest isn't the finish line."

A small crowd of residents gathered on the courthouse lawn and nearby to hear the press conference. Many went away disappointed.

"I'm glad they made two arrests. I really am," Ray Hale said after news of the initial arrests. "But I want to know – are they looking for anybody else? And, if so, how many? I understand not giving details, with the work going on and all, but we need to know if they are looking for anybody else."

Who were the victims at Alabama birthday party shooting?

Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox on Monday confirmed the identities of the four people who were killed. They were Dadeville High School seniors Philstavious "Phil" Dowdell, 18, and Shaunkivia "Keke" Smith, 17; Opelika native and musician Marsiah "Siah" Collins, 19; and Dadeville native Corbin Holston, 23.

Dowdell, a star athlete recruited to play college football, was the birthday girl’s brother, and he died in his sister's arms.

Burkett asked other witnesses who attended the party to come forward with information.

A makeshift memorial has shown up at the scene of the scene of the fatal mass shoting in Dadeville, Ala., seen on Wednesday April 19, 2023.
A makeshift memorial has shown up at the scene of the scene of the fatal mass shoting in Dadeville, Ala., seen on Wednesday April 19, 2023.

Dadeville shooting comes after Nashville, Louisville killings

The shooting in Dadeville was the 160th mass shooting in the country this year, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive, which tracks all mass shootings, defined as a shooting in which at least four victims are hit by gunfire.

The killing followed mass shootings at a small, private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, and at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. This week, two shootings in Maine – one on a busy interstate – left four people dead and three injured.

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Roney reported from Dadeville, Alabama. Hauck reported from Chicago.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama shooting: Three charged with murder in party mass shooting