2 Teenagers Arrested And Charged Over Deadly Alabama Sweet 16 Party Shooting

Two teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection to the shooting over the weekend at a Sweet 16 party in a small Alabama town that killed four people and injured 32 others, authorities announced on Wednesday.

A 17-year-old and 16-year-old, both of whom have the same last name and are from Tuskegee, Alabama, are charged with four counts of reckless murder, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) said in a post to Facebook.

The charges follow a “complex and thorough investigation” conducted with assistance from “a multitude of law enforcement agencies,” ALEA added.

A bond hearing for the defendants must be held by Friday under Alabama law, reported the Associated Press. Officials said they plan to file more charges and may recall a grand jury to seek an indictment in the coming months.

“When I tell you that this is just the tip of the iceberg … we’re going to make sure every one of those victims has justice and not just the deceased,” District Attorney Mike Segrest said during a press conference.

The Daily Wire is not naming the suspects in keeping with a policy of depriving mass shooters of undeserved notoriety.

Officials said they could not immediately release a motive as the investigation is ongoing. Authorities previously said they found shell casings from handguns at the scene.

The shooting happened Saturday night at a dance studio in Dadeville, a small town of about 3,000 people, where the Sweet 16 birthday party was being held for a teenager named Alexis Dowdell.

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The four victims who died have been identified as Philstavious Dowdell, Alexis Dowdell’s 18-year-old brother; Shaunkivia Nicole “Keke” Smith, 17; Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins, 19; and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, according to AL.com.

Alexis Dowdell told the AP her brother, Philstavious, died in her arms after he tried to push her out of the dance studio. “I wasn’t crying at the moment because I was trying to be strong instead of panicking. And so I said, ‘You’re going to be all right. You’re a fighter, you’re strong,’” she recalled.

Thirty-two others were injured in the attack. Officials said on Wednesday that at least four victims remain at the hospital in critical condition.

The ALEA said a number of law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI, and the U.S. Marshals Service, are “instrumental in assisting and supporting the investigation, along with locating and apprehending the suspects.”

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