Daddyvil, Ala. – Alabama law enforcement officers on Sunday were pleading with the public to come forward with information about a shooting that killed four people and wounded 28 during a teen’s birthday party.
Among the dead was a high school student who was planning to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday. Shooting broke out Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville.
During two press conferences Sunday, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency did not respond to questions. He did not say if the suspect was in custody or if investigators knew of any motive. He did not give the names of the dead.
“We have to get information from the community,” Burkett said during a news conference Sunday night.
Filstavius ”Phil” Dowdle, a Dadeville High School student who was committed to Jacksonville State University, was partying at his sister Alexis’ party before he was shot and killed, his grandmother, Annette Allen, told the Montgomery Advenser.
“He was a very down-to-earth kid. He never messed with anyone. He always had a smile on his face,” Allen told the newspaper, calling it his “million dollar smile.”
Doodle’s mother was among those injured in the shooting.
“Everyone is sad,” Allen said.
Burkett said the shooting occurred around 10:30 p.m. Saturday. “Four people have been tragically killed in this accident,” he said.
The shootings rocked the city of 3,200, which is about 57 miles (92 kilometers) northeast of Montgomery, Alabama.
The party’s DJ, Kenan Cooper, told WBMA-TV that the party was briefly interrupted when those in attendance heard someone with a gun. He said the armed people were told to leave, but no one left. When the shooting started an hour later, Cooper said, some people took cover under a table where he was standing, and others ran away.
Rev. Jason Whetstone, who leads Christian Faith Fellowship, said the granddaughter of a church member injured her foot and had surgery Sunday.
“All of our hearts are aching right now,” Whetstone told an interfaith vigil in the First Baptist Church parking lot. “We’re just trying to come together to find strength and comfort.”
“We are a loving community,” he said. “We are coming together in every aspect to comfort each and every one of these children, the teachers, and all of the community.”
Dadeville’s small town center centers around a courthouse square with one- and two-story brick buildings. The city’s busiest business district is a few blocks north of the Square, just off a busy four-lane highway that runs between Birmingham and Auburn. Dadeville is located near Lake Martin, which is a popular recreational area.
On Sunday, investigators continued to check in and out of the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio, indicated by a sign hanging on the outside of a one-story brick building off the square. Less than a block away, American and Alabama flags are lowered to the half-staff outside the Tallapoosa County Courthouse.
Dadeville Mayor Frank Goodman said he was asleep when a council member called him just before 11 p.m. Saturday. He said he went to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where some people who had been shot had been taken.
“It was chaotic,” Goodman said. “There were people running. They were crying and screaming. There were police cars everywhere, there were ambulances everywhere. People were trying to find their loved ones. It was a scene, as nothing like this had happened in our city before.” .
Most of the victims are teenagers, said Rev. Ben Hayes, who serves as chaplain to the Dadville Police Department and the local high school football team. Hayes told the Associated Press that Doodle was within weeks of graduating and faced a bright future.
“He was a tough competitor on the field,” Hayes said. “You didn’t want to try to manipulate him or deal with him. But when he came off the field, he was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet, highly respected and greatly respected by his peers.”
Antojuan Woody, from the nearby town of Camp Hill, was a senior and fellow Dowdell receiver on the undefeated Dadeville Tigers football team before losing in the second round of the playoffs last year. He said he and Doodle have been best friends their entire lives. “It hurts,” Woody said as a steady stream of friends and teammates came up to hug him during his Sunday prayer vigil. “It’s unreal. I can’t believe it.”
Woody said he and Dowdle had a special bond on the soccer field. “We’re friends forever like that,” he said, “our chemistry was spot on. We always celebrated together on the field.”
He described the victims as “great people who didn’t deserve what happened to them.”
Reverend Hayes said worried families toured the local hospital on Saturday night trying to find out how their children were doing. Serious crime is rare in Dadville, he said, and the small town is “sad, traumatized and traumatized”.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Filstavius Doodle’s family and the other victims of last night’s senseless tragedy. He was a great young man with a bright future,” Jacksonville State football coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement Sunday.
Dowdell also recently won medals at the high school track meet at Troy University.
Counseling will be available to students in Tallapoosa County schools Monday, said school district superintendent Raymond C. Porter.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabama. Violent crime has no place in our state, and we are being kept updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said on social media.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that he is monitoring the situation closely and is reaching out to local officials and law enforcement to provide support.
“What has our nation come to when children can’t attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their children walk out the door of a school, movie theater, or park?” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are increasing — not decreasing. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
Biden called on Congress to “demand safe storage of firearms, require background checks for all gun sales, eliminate immunity from liability for gun manufacturers, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”
The mayor said Dowdle was a “great young man”. He also said he was concerned about those wounded and traumatized by the gunfire.
“We are praying for them,” Goodman said. “We ask God, if it is His will, to return them to their parents safely, so that they can reform.”
Goodman said that guns and violence are not frequent in Dadville. He said trying to control guns would be as futile as trying to control illegal drugs.
Dadville High School had 485 students in grades six through twelve in 2022, according to Alabama data. It serves Dadeville and nearby portions of Tallapoosa County. Like the rest of Dadeville, it’s tucked away on a busy highway that runs from Birmingham to Auburn.
Roger McDonald, president of the football team at Dadeville High, said he will do everything he can to support the grieving students.
“There is no evidence for something like this,” he said. “So the best thing to do is just love your kids, let them all know how much you care about them, and be there for them.”
McDonald said that Doodle had something special.
“He was a leader and, to the extent of his ability, an impressive player,” said the coach.
Michael Taylor, an assistant coach, said he met Doodle when the boy was nine and coached him in youth soccer. Taylor said the team received an invitation to Atlanta to play in the stadium used by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.
“He did some amazing things there, and he hasn’t stopped doing them since,” he said. “He was the number one athlete in the school.”
Taylor said he last heard from Dowdell on Friday, when Dowdell was looking for a video of his athletic exploits. Taylor said he drove to the scene of the shooting Saturday night from his home in nearby Camp Hill.
“Man, I couldn’t get close,” Taylor said. “So once I figured out what was going on, I really had to leave because it was going to be all night.”
Taylor said he came back on Sunday to see Doodle’s body from the dance studio. He said he wasn’t sure what to say to the other athletes on Monday.
“The first thing we need to do is pray to get out of this,” Taylor said Sunday. “There’s no other way. And then I can tell you, they’re all very close like family in high school.”
This is at least the second time in recent years that multiple people have been shot in Dadville. Media reported that five people were injured in July 2016 during a shooting at an American Legion auditorium, and one man was later charged with five counts of attempted murder.
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Chandler reported from Huntsville, Alabama.
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