Four dead, at least 16 others injured after mass shooting at Alabama ‘Sweet 16’ party
Many of the victims are believed to be teens, according to witnesses
Four people were killed and at least 16 others were wounded in Dadeville, Alabama, over the weekend after a “Sweet-16” birthday party turned violent.
The party took place on Saturday night at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio, witnesses told WRBL.
Gunfire erupted at the party around 2230 local time [0330 GMT], injuring more than 20 people. Witnesses told the news broadcaster that most of the more than 20 victims were teens, although that information has not been confirmed by law enforcement.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed that four people died in the mass shooting, according to AL.com. No further information on their identities or the details of the shooting were provided. No arrests were announced, and no further information on the whereabouts of the shooter were provided.
Numerous families have reportedly gathered to wait outside area hospitals where their loved ones are presumably being treated.
Little information has come out officially about the shooting in the hours since it happened. A grisly photo — showing six people lying on the ground inside the dance studio next to the words "praying for Dadeville" — has emerged after the shooting, according to the broadcaster. First responders said they were aware of the shooting, and a group of social media users are trying to get the image removed.
Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, said he spent the night with the families of the victims, according to ABC News.
Family members of the victims reportedly told Mr Haynes that an argument inside the party sparked the shooting, and that there were more than 50 people at the party when the violence broke out.
The situation is under active investigation the by the ALEA's State Bureau of Investigations, the Dadeville Police Department, and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Office.
Governor Kay Ivey acknowledged the shooting on social media.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” she wrote. “Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
Dadeville's mayor, Jimmy Goodman, said that the residents were "in shock" and that they were "doing our best to cope with it".
"We're just trying to make do," he told the news outlet.
The mass shooting is the latest in a violent spring across the US south. In late March, a woman shot and six people at a private school in Nashville, including three 9-year-old children. A few weeks later a mass shooter in Louisville, Kentucky, killed six people and injured nine others at his workplace.