6 People Arrested in Alabama Sweet 16 Shooting
Demand your reps take action on gun violence
Updated April 21, 2023
- Six people have been charged with reckless murder in connection to the Sweet 16 shooting. Investigators said in court documents that they believe five of those charged were present at the party on April 15 and "discharged firearms into the crowd," killing four people.
Updated April 20, 2023
- Two teens and a 20-year-old man have been arrested and charged with reckless murder in connection to the Sweet 16 shooting.
- Sgt Jeremy J. Burkett announced the recent arrest of Wilson LaMar Hill Jr of Auburn, Alabama, but declined to discuss specifics of a possible motive of the shooting or how the events unfolded.
Updated April 19, 2023
- Two Alabama teens were arrested and face murder charges for the fatal Sweet 16 rampage in Dadeville on Saturday night.
- Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, each face four counts of reckless murder, said Sgt. Jeremy Burkett with Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Given the death toll of four and the injuries that at least 32 others are suffering from, more charges are expected to be filed. Both suspects will be tried as adults, according to Fifth Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest.
What's the story?
- On Saturday, four people were killed and 28 were injured by a gunman who attacked a Sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Alabama. At least 15 of the wounded and three of the deceased are teenagers.
- The shooter is still at large. The Dadeville Police Department said they have "solid leads" but are asking the public to provide any information about the assailant.
- Dadeville, a close-knit community of just 3,000 people, is engulfed in grief and confusion. Two of the victims — Philstavious Dowdell and KeKe Smith — were seniors at Dadeville High School on the brink of graduation and heading off to college. Dowdell was the brother of the 16-year-old celebrating her birthday.
- Local pastor Ben Hayes, who is also the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and the Dadeville High School football team, said:
"It's a very close, tight-knit community. Everybody knows everybody. That's why this is so difficult. I knew these kids personally. Most people did."
The big picture: Gun violence in the U.S.
- New research has found just how much gun violence impacts the nation's mental health. A study published this year suggests that the shootings have negative impacts beyond the direct survivors and community, and into the broader population of Americans.
- A recent study from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that gun violence has impacted most families in the U.S. — just over half of all adults have a connection to at least one firearm-related incident. Nearly one in five adults have had a family member killed by a gun or have been personally threatened with a gun, and about one in six have witnessed someone being shot.
- Black adults are around twice as likely as white or Hispanic adults to have a family member killed by a gun or witness a gunshot injury. A third of Black and Hispanic adults worry daily that one of their family members will be a victim of gun violence — nearly three times the share of white adults.
- The survey found that about four in 10 adults, including those with children, live in a household with guns. Of this subgroup, 75% said their firearms are stored in a way that does not reflect standard gun-safety practices.
What they're saying
- The frequency of mass shootings in the U.S. has led to an exponential increase in indirect impacts on the general public. Leah Brogan, a psychologist who works at the Center for Violence Prevention and the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said:
"We know that exposure through the media – which can happen across many different outlets, with a swipe of a finger or a ding on your phone – to some type of traumatic event can result in someone experiencing an acute stress reaction and can trigger underlying post-traumatic stress…[T]hat constant exposure can be escalating and activating people even when they don't experience something directly."
- Mass shootings are often depicted as a public health issue needing a curated set of interventions. Mental health hotlines, which can offer some relief and solutions for those in distress, report an uptick in calls and messages directly after mass shootings as people, mainly young adults and teens, are encompassed with fear, grief, and helplessness.
- Dr. Shairi Turner, the chief health officer for the Crisis Text Line, an internist, and a pediatrician, said many are reaching out to establish a sense of stability in their own lives. She continued:
"Under the age of 20 or 22, our brains are still developing, and we're still formulating our understanding of the world. Children and young adults start to create narratives around their own safety, the safety of their schools and homes and communities based on what they are witnessing. Tragedies can tend to make them think that the world is an unsafe place."
- Brogan and Turner both emphasized the importance of processing these events without letting them define you. Turner said:
"It can take days to weeks to months to process tragedy. Reach out for support, listen to each other's feelings, and set boundaries around how much you're taking in of current crises."
Gun violence is consuming America. Demand your reps take action now.
-Jamie Epstein
(Photo credit: Facebook/Elizabeth White News)
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15 wounded and 10 dead. Send the cops door to door to take the guns away! Too many dead kids. They can't own guns anymore.
Those who are blaming criminal justice reform or complaining about crime...so how many of the shooters in the past week actually had a criminal record?
The old men in upstate New York or in Kansas City who shot at people for coming to their houses unarmed?
Did all these accused in Dadeland have a criminal record?
Maybe it's time to stop parroting Fox "News" talking points about crime and do some research.
We need to look at the root cause here - why did the perpetrators have such hatred in their hearts that they would attack a kid's birthday party? That's what we need to address first. The "how" is not as important as the "why?"
Shooting first and then asking questions later is a plan for disaster. These kind of "errors" are not acceptable. Our acceptance of these senseless shootings by the Republicans is also unacceptable. Instead of passing discriminatory laws, they need to pass laws that would help reign in this madness.
Enforce the gun laws on the books, and stop reducing charges in all these crime ridden cities. Most already have strict guns laws that aren't being enforced.
How about we crack down and do Criminal reform hmm? That would be awesome.
The NRA has a great deal of money invested in our politicians as does the corporate military complex so it is an uphill battle to get the politicians to listen to their constituents. Its all about keeping their cush positions along with all the perks that come with it. Call it "The Power of the Party" because they won't do a damn thing unless their party says so. I want a senator and representative who is free thinking and open to LISTENING to the people they are supposed to be working for since they are being paid out of our tax dollars. This present "system" needsw to be revamped and regulated to prevent greedy power control over the rest of us.
Parents need to be held responsible for the raising of their children as well. Abuse or neglect of any kind should not be overlooked. Minors are the responsibility of the adult influence in their lives. Teach the children well and all will turn out as it should. And I still believe that "anger management" classes should be taught in school from beginning through grade 12. Todays parents need to set an example for those who will follow in their footsteps to improve what is.
I'm glad two suspects have been found, but it will not bring back those who were killed. Hopefully we can learn what caused these two young men to do this and find more ways to prevent violence like this.
Blacks do most of the shootings
It is not gun control per se! It is the lack of concern by this administration and some Democrats to pick and chose just who and what crimes they want to enforce. Changing serious felonies to misdemeanors with little or no legal actions on the individuals just gives the mobs free rein to do whatever they like. But they can attack politicians of the other party that has committed misdemeanors changed to felonies! And the premise that a person is innocent until proven guilty?
In the last 7 years, we have seen a party go after a sitting President with pre-fabricated lies with no supporting evidence. Yet, when there is evidence that another President has broken our laws and has become a national security risk, they look the other way.
What I want to see is a Congress and Law-in-enforcement that investigates all suspected crimes no matter which party they belong to. their job is to find the truth without political bias.
People taking the brunt of loss, due to the lack of gun restrictions, resulting in the loss of loved ones, must get out and vote those pandering representatives out of office. It's a must to save them and theirs.
Every day.
It happens every single day.
Nearly every single day there is another Mass Shooting and more gun-deaths. And these don't even include the individal shootings. The routine slaughter by police of People of Color whose only crime was a burned out license plate lightbulb. The gross stupidity and racism of a home-owner who answered his doorbell with a gun and shoots an innocent black teenager in the head. A young woman gets shot to death because she and her friends got a bit lost while driving and pulled into an unfamiliar driveway.
Too many guns in the hands of too many people with terrible judgement... That includes a large number of police officers...
There is no such thing as "gun violence". It is a term made up by the Nazi news media. Guns cannot cimmit violence. The same as a baseball bat canot cimmit violence, but too many people are taken in by the news media that they don't know the truth from fiction. Anything that can be used to assault someone is an assault weapon. A baseball bat, a car, Etc... So the nasty news media and certian elected officials are using fearmongering to control what you think. There is no such thing as an assault weapon. The biggest problem is that none of you fools will do anyresearch on the issue. I don't know if it is just lazyness or you depnd on the news media for your news fix. Never the less, you are being controlled by the news media. Do you think that it makes you smart? Or do you think that you know more then anyone else? How about going to "sonsoflibertymedia.com" maybe you will learn something.
This is horrifying, but look where it's happening. Many of these recent shootings are in states with very loose gun restrictions, so are the laws working? Are these red states content with having mass shootings on the regular, that they'll do nothing? Are these politicians really that dependent on the NRA for their campaign funding?
Honestly, it's sickening how often these shootings are happening in this country, but until some of these politicians wake up and care about somebody other than a fetus, this is likely going to continue.
I hope they're happy with what they've created.
Until SCOTUS returns to a strict interpretation of the first clause of the Second Amendment -- overturned in 2008 (Heller v. DC) -- gun violence in America will continue unabated. Until guns are removed from the streets gun violence will continue to prevail over commen sense. Until the Republican party is wholly rejected by the voters -- at the state, local, and federal levels -- nothing will be done about gun violence in America.
https://giffords.org/lawcenter/gun-laws/second-amendment/the-supreme-court-the-second-amendment/
Many ofl the "PRO LIFER'S" are soley concerned about BIRTHS or they would be working towards gun violence prevention which causes so MANY DEATHS!!!!!!
And the killing just continues while the GD Republicans won't even consider commonsense gun control laws. These senseless killings are now out of control and it is imperative that action be taken to decrease these acts of mass slaughter. How many more mass shootings will it take for the fucking Republicans to take action. The jackass Republicans need to start paying attention to the will of the people, instead of their small radical base.
Alabama is a permitless, open carry stat, among the top 5 states (MS, LA, NM, WY, AL) with highest overall gun death rates with weaker gun violence prevention laws and higher rates of gun ownership, and since 1981 has progressively gotten worse.
"In 2022, Alabama enacted “permitless carry” by repealing a longstanding prohibition on carrying a concealed handgun in public without a permit subject to a background check."
"the five states with the highest overall gun death rates have weaker gun violence prevention laws and higher rates of gun ownership."
https://giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/concealed-carry-in-alabama/
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/gun-deaths-by-state
https://vpc.org/press/states-with-strong-gun-laws-and-lower-gun-ownership-have-lowest-gun-death-rates-in-the-nation-new-data-for-2021-confirms/