Dadeville mass shooting: Students killed at Alabama 'Sweet 16' party had 'very bright future'
DADEVILLE, ALABAMA: Four students were slain and at least 32 others were injured after a 16-year-old's birthday party turned into a massacre in Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday, April 15. The victims who died in the callous mass shooting have been identified and deemed as smart children “with very bright futures." Police have not yet released the identity or any information on the suspect who is responsible for leaving the small city of Alabama tormented with grief.
The slain victims identified are Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, from Dadeville, Alabama, Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19, from Opelika, Alabama, Philstavious Dowdell, 18, from Camp Hill, Alabama, and a senior at Dadeville High School Shaunkivia (KeKe) Nicole Smith, 17, also a senior at Dadeville High School. They were "very athletic, very humble children, very respectful children,” City council member Teneeshia Goodman-Johnson said. “They just wanted to have fun, and that was taken from them.”
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Philstavious Dowdell
The slain victim was there to celebrate his sister Alexis' 16th birthday before his life was cut short. Dowdell was a star football player at Dadeville High School and had recently earned a scholarship to play wide receiver at Jacksonville State University. Partygoers were enjoying their time when suddenly gunfire erupted, Alexis told CNN on Tuesday. “And then all I remember is my brother grabbing me and pushing me down to the ground,” while the shooting continued, Alexis said. The 16-year-old claimed she felt a pool of blood but was uninjured and eventually got up and went outside to her stepfather and mother, LaTonya Allen.
When Alexis returned back inside she witnessed her brother wounded on the ground. She ran to him and held him and said, "(You’re) strong. Don’t give up on me." Sadly, when emergency medical technicians arrived, Alexis asked them to check her brother’s pulse. “And they checked and they said he was gone,” she said. Allen, his mother, said he was “everything you would want in a son.” “He always did everything to make me happy,” Allen added.
Keenan Cooper, who was DJ’ing the party said Dowdell was “kind of like the hometown hero.” Michael Taylor, an assistant football, basketball, and track coach at Dadeville High, said, "He was the No. 1 athlete in the school." He stated the 18-year-old was an honor student who played basketball and won state honors in track in 2022. The coach said, Dowdell asked him for poignant favor just weeks before the tragedy, “If anything ever happened to me, even when I go to college, take care of my two sisters." Describing him further, Dowdell's grandmother, Annette Allen, said, "He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face."
Marsiah Emmanuel Collins
The 19-year-old was a high school football player and an aspiring musician who decided to take a year off to pursue a music career after being accepted at Louisiana State University in the fall. “Marsiah was optimistic and a loving person who cared about his family deeply,” his father Martin Collins said. “He loved to spend time with his sisters, and he loved football.” He was also best friends with Dowdell, despite playing football for different high schools. “Football in Alabama connects the kids. Those kids did everything together. They would even go to each other’s high schools to watch each other play,” the father added,
(Courtesy Martin Collins)
“I have my son’s picture over my bed,” his father mourned. “And to wake up now and see it and know my son is dead is devastating.” Collins is survived by his older brother, two younger sisters, and his parents.
Shaunkivia (KeKe) Nicole Smith
(Keke Smith/Facebook)
The 17-year-old was also a senior at Dadeville High School. Smith had plans to attend the University of Alabama, her cousin Amy Jackson said. She was a student athletic manager on the Dadeville High School track team, said Coach Taylor.
Corbin Dahmontrey Holston
Holston graduated from Dadeville High School in 2018. The 23-year-old did not attend the party but only went there to check on a younger family member over concerns there might be trouble. “Out of concern for other family members, Corbin responded to the party to ensure their safety but unfortunately encountered the suspects,’’ his mother, Janett Heard, told AL.com. “He was not perfect by any means, but he was caring and considerate,’’ Heard said. “He loved his family and this community,” he added.
“Corbin was selfless when it came to his family and friends and always tried to be a protector,’’ Heard said. “That’s just the type of person he was.” Shortly after Holston arrived, the shooting started. “If not for the concern of the family member, he would not have been there,’’ the family member said. Holston was able to pull his younger relative to safety but was killed during the plight. “I want people to remember he was selfless,’’ said his other unidentified family member. “He had more concern for family and friends than himself. If anybody needed him, he wouldn’t hesitate to respond.” His family members received a call he was shot but when they got to the hospital they learned he did not survive.