Dadeville shooting: High school football star Phil Dowdell among 4 shot dead at sister's 'Sweet 16' party
DADEVILLE, ALABAMA: A total of four people have been killed and at least 30 injured following a Saturday night, April 15, mass shooting at a birthday party. Among the deceased was a high school football star, Phil Dowdell, who was there to celebrate his sister Alexis' 16th birthday before gunfire broke out shortly after 10.30 pm.
The attack took place at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio as people gathered for a Sweet 16 celebration, leaving four dead and some in critical condition with gunshot wounds. There was no confirmation about what led to the shooting but police said that there was no longer any threat to the community, reports Reuters. However, they have not revealed any information regarding a suspect.
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Who was Phil Dowdell?
Dowdell was a Dadeville High School student-athlete, who recently committed to playing wide receiver at Jacksonville State University, reports New York Post. Talking about him, Michael Taylor, an assistant football, basketball, and track coach at Dadeville High, said, "He was the No. 1 athlete in the school." "I actually started coaching Phil in the youth league; he was 10 at the time. I’ve been with Phil and some of the guys, and we came up together as far as when I started coaching youth then working with the school and coaching varsity," he expressed, as per The Alexander City Outlook.
The coach said Dowdell was one of the best football players in the state. He was also an honor student who played basketball and won state honors in track in 2022, states AL.com. 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."
On April 8, Dowdell posted on Facebook, “Everyday my life go up & up, it’s hard for me to get mad." His sister updated her Facebook profile picture on Sunday morning, April 16, to a photo of her kissing her brother’s cheek.
Friends and family remembered Phil Dowdell
Following the news of his death, friends, and family started pouring their hearts out as they remembered him. His uncle, Antreal Allen, wrote, "First I want to start off by saying I want to thank God for blessing me with the privilege to call you my nephew. However, you was way more than a nephew to me. Our bond was one of kind; you was my little brother, you was my guy, you was my boy, you was my right hand man, you was & will always be more than a nephew to me. You tried your best to do everything the right way. You was respectful, you had a big heart, you put others before yourself, you loved your family & friends, you had goals, you was determine, most importantly you knew God," and continued by saying, "It was an honor watching you grow from a little baby, to a boy, to a special young man!" Another wrote, "I love you Phil Dowdell I’m so heartbroken." While a well-wisher wrote, "Woke up to a mass shooting at a sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama that injured 30 kids and killing a few.. this one stood out the most to me of course bc I have a teenage son whom had some of the same characteristics as this baby.. this world is so crazy... one minute u got ur whole future planned and it looks so bright.. the next its stripped away from u within the blink of an eye... praying for all families." Another murdered victim was identified as fellow Dadeville High School senior and former athlete KeKe Nicole Smith, who was described as “so full of love.”
'There were four lives, not fatalities'
Talking about the shoot, Sergeant Jeremy Burkett with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) said, "There were four lives, not fatalities, lives; there were four lives tragically lost in this incident and there's been a multitude of injuries," and added, "This is a fine city, a fine county, and absolutely amazing state and we are not going to allow one tragedy to define us."
That incident marked the city’s second mass shooting in less than a week. On April 10, a gunman, identified as 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, killed five people and injured several others at Louisville’s Old National Bank. The victims who were killed were 40-year-old senior vice president of commercial real estate Josh Barrick, 63-year-old senior vice president Tommy Elliott, 64-year-old market executive Jim Tutt, 45-year-old loan analyst Juliana Farmer and 57-year-old executive administrative officer Deana Eckert.