Mourners attend a vigil at the First Baptist Church of Dadeville following last night’s mass shooting at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio on April 16, 2023 in Dadeville, Alabama. | Megan Varner/Getty Images
A mass shooting at a Sweet 16 party left four dead and dozens injured.
Four people were killed and 28 others injured in a mass shooting at a 16th birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday night. Authorities have not yet released information on the shooter or their motive.
The incident, which reportedly occurred at a dance studio, marks the highest number of injuries of any mass shooting this year so far, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. It follows other recent mass shootings at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and at Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee.
According to news reports, Philstavious Dowdell, a Dadeville High School football player and brother of the birthday girl, as well as KeKe Nicole Smith, a volleyball player and team manager for the high school’s track team, were among those killed. At least 15 teenagers are reportedly being treated for gunshot wounds.
In response to the shooting, President Joe Biden reiterated his calls for Congress to enact laws requiring safe storage of firearms and universal background checks, banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and eliminating gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability.
He also commended Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s recent executive order to expand background checks in the state, which has among the laxest gun regulations in the country, and Lee’s push for a red flag law, under which individuals who pose a risk to themselves or others can be temporarily barred from possessing firearms.
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear?” Biden said in a statement. “This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said on Twitter on Sunday morning that her office was tracking developments on the shooting.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” she said. “Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.”
What are Alabama’s gun laws?
Alabama has the fifth-highest rate of firearm mortality nationwide, with 23.6 per 100,000 people dying at the end of a gun in 2020, according the most recent available data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state also has the 10th-highest number of registered guns in circulation, and studies have found a link between gun ownership and gun deaths.
Earlier this year, Alabama became one of 26 states with permitless carry laws. Anyone over the age of 18 can carry a firearm in public without a permit in Alabama, and they do not need a background check, safety training, or to face a waiting period in order to buy a gun.
In January, Alabama also enacted a state firearms prohibited person database to which municipal, probate, district, and circuit courts can report convictions and orders that impact an individual’s ability to possess a firearm. It’s not clear whether the Dadeville shooter would have been flagged under that system.