The mass shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama over the weekend has rocked the local community and left four families grieving. After a search lasting several days, two teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection to the massacre.
The Associated Press reported today (April 19) that Tallapoosa County District Attorney Mike Segrest is moving forward with murder charges against 17-year-old Ty Reik McCullough and 16-year-old Travis McCullough. Both teens face four counts of reckless murder and will be tried as adults, as Alabama law requires when anyone 16 or older is charged with homicide.
“We can’t get into a motive right now because that would be part of an ongoing investigation,” Sgt. Jeremy J. Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said. “We can’t share that.”
Alexis Dowdell was celebrating her 16th birthday at a dance studio in the heart of Dadeville on April 15. One of the victims who died in the shooting was her brother, 18-year-old Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell.
“We’re going to make sure every one of those victims has justice, not just the deceased,” Segrest told reporters outside the Tallapoosa County Courthouse. “It’s Lexi’s 16th birthday party, Sweet 16. There’s uncut cake and unburned 16 candles that never got lit. Lexi’s brother was one of the victims. On her 16th birthday party, she knelt by her brother as he took his last breath.”
The three other victims were Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, and Shaunkivia “KeKe” Nicole Smith. One of Smith’s family members was thankful for the arrests. “It don’t make the hurt any easier. But we are relieved that [the suspects] are not out in the community,” Amy Jackson told the AP.
Burkett noted that the tragedy affects much more than those who were shot, especially the relatives of those who were killed. This was just another instance where he was tasked with delivering hard news to victims’ loved ones. “Somebody’s got to start thinking about mama because I know I’m tired of it and everybody behind me is tired of it,” he stated plainly. “We’re tired of going to the mothers and having to tell them that these kids are not coming home.”
See a clip from the press conference below.