In the most recent outburst of gun-related mass violence in America, at least four people were murdered and more than 20 others, primarily teenagers, were injured in a shooting on Saturday night at a birthday celebration in Alabama.
In Dadeville, a small town northeast of the state capital Montgomery, the shooting reportedly took place at a Sweet 16 party at a dance studio.
“There were four lives tragically lost in this incident, and there’s been a multitude of injuries,” Sergeant Jeremy Burkett, a spokesman for the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), told reporters Sunday.
Later, he added that 28 people had been hurt, some of them critically, and he pleaded with the locals to come forward with any information they might have about the incident. Burkett, however, did not elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the shooting or its motivation.
According to Annette Allen, who spoke to the Montgomery Advertiser, her grandson Phil Dowdell was one of those killed; he had been at a party honoring his sister Alexis’s 16th birthday when gunshots erupted.
“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” Allen said of her grandson, a high school senior and football player due to graduate within weeks.
“Everybody’s grieving,” Allen said of the small community of some 3,000 residents.
After learning of the shooting, President Joe Biden stated that the nation was once more in mourning over the deaths of young Americans due to gun violence.
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?” Biden, who has long sought tighter gun safety measures, asked in a statement.
“Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising — not declining,” he added. “This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
According to Heidi Smith, marketing director for the rural hospital’s owner IvyCreek Healthcare, 15 different gunshot wound patients, most of whom were in their teens, were treated at the adjacent Lake Martin Community Hospital.
Nine of the patients have been moved to facilities with higher levels of care, while six patients have been discharged. According to Smith, five of them were in critical condition.
“It’s been terrible,” she said.
Burkett and other law enforcement officials were silent more than 12 hours after the tragedy regarding who might have carried out the killing, why, or whether a suspect had been captured.
“We can’t share anything further at this time,” the sergeant said, adding only that “it was tied to a birthday party.”
According to Jonathan Floyd, the chief of police of Dadeville, the town is “a tight-knit community full of wonderful people.”
According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the FBI, Dadeville police, and the State Bureau of Investigations have all started an investigation.
A building in Dadeville was reportedly surrounded by crime scene tape and had white sheets covering some of the floor, according to local Columbus, Georgia television station WRBL.
– ‘Heartbreaking’_
State leaders offered prayers and condemned violence on Twitter on Sunday, but they gave no specifics on what occurred.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” Governor Kay Ivey posted. “Violent crime has NO place in our state.”
There are 400 million guns in the United States, a nation of about 330 million people, and terrible mass shootings happen frequently.
The most recent fatalities occurred on the 16th anniversary of Virginia Tech’s 2007 mass shooting, which left 32 people dead.
Separately, authorities in Louisville, Kentucky, where a bank employee murdered five people at his office last Monday, announced two people were killed and four others were injured in a shooting late Saturday at a busy park.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 163 mass shootings in the US so far this year. A mass shooting, according to the non-profit organization, must involve at least four shot victims who are either injured or killed, but not the gunman.
Republicans, fervent upholders of the right to bear arms guaranteed by the constitution, have long resisted efforts to tighten gun laws.
Even though there is tremendous concern over the frequent shootings, the political gridlock persists.
AFP
