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(DADEVILLE, Ala.) — Four people were killed and 32 others injured when a mass shooting broke out at a crowded sweet 16 birthday party in rural Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday night, authorities said.

The shooter is still at large.

Apr 17, 7:36 PM EDT
32 injured, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has updated the number of people injured during the shooting Saturday night to 32.

Police are still investigating the incident and are trying to “solidify a motive and potential suspects,” the ALEA said.

-ABC News’ Matt Foster

Apr 17, 2:19 PM EDT
VP Harris: ‘Enough is enough’

Vice President Kamala Harris tweeted Monday that “enough is enough” in the wake of “another senseless mass shooting,” and called on state and federal legislators to “step up and act.”

“Parents shouldn’t have to pray their babies come home same from school or a birthday party,” Harris tweeted. “The majority of Americans, including gun owners, support commonsense gun safety laws. We need leaders in state houses and Congress with the courage to step up and act.”

Apr 17, 11:23 AM EDT
Slain victims were ages 17 to 23

Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox has identified the four people declared dead from Saturday night’s shooting: 23-year-old Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 19-year-old Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 18-year-old Philstavious Dowdell and 17-year-old Shaunkivia Nicole Smith.

Dowdell and Smith were both seniors at Dadeville High School.

Apr 17, 9:32 AM EDT
Police have ‘solid leads’ but need help from public

The Dadeville Police Department has “solid leads” as they search for the suspected shooter, but authorities still need help from the public, Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd told ABC News on Monday.

Floyd asked anyone with photos or videos from Saturday night’s sweet 16 party to come forward.

Due to the department’s manpower and resources, Floyd said the Alabama State Bureau of Investigations is taking the lead with the investigation.

-ABC News’ Elwyn Lopez

Apr 16, 7:00 PM EDT
Star high school athlete killed in shooting

One of the four people killed in the mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama, was a star high school football player and track team member, his coach told ABC News.

Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School, had committed to attending Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship, said coach Roger McDowell.

McDowell said Dowdell was at a sweet 16 birthday party at a venue in Dadeville Saturday night when a shooting erupted.

In addition to those killed, at least 28 people were injured. McDowell said Dowdell’s mother, who was a chaperone at the party, was among those hurt, shot twice in the legs.

Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State’s head football coach, said in a post on Twitter Sunday, that the death of Dowdell and the other victims is a “senseless tragedy.”

“He was a great young man with a bright future,” Rodriguez tweeted. “My staff and I are heartbroken and hope that everyone will support his family through this difficult time.”

McDowell said he also knew a teenage girl who was killed in the shooting. He said she was a senior and the manager of the track and football teams.

In addition to being a standout wide receiver, Dowdell was also a member of the high school track team, McDowell said.

“Phil was humble with a major smile,” McDowell told ABC News. “He had one goal to get to the NFL and take care of his mom.”

-ABC News’ Elwyn Lopez

Apr 16, 6:45 PM EDT
28 injured, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says

The number of people injured during the course of the incident is 28, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Sunday.

Some of those injuries are critical, and there’s a wide variety of injures, according to the ALEA.

Authorities didn’t mention a suspect or suspects, or an arrest, as of Sunday evening. Police said earlier in the day there was “no public safety risk at this time.”

Central Alabama Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for any information.

-ABC News’ Matt Foster

Apr 16, 4:20 PM EDT
Biden calls on congress to enact gun reform

President Joe Biden released a statement Sunday calling on Congress to enact “common sense” gun control legislation in response to shootings over the weekend in Alabama and Kentucky that left a total of six people dead.

“This morning, our nation is once again grieving for at least four Americans tragically killed at a teen’s birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama as well as two others killed last night in a crowded public park in Louisville,” Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for their families, and for the many others injured and fighting for their lives in the wake of this weekend’s gun violence.”

As he has done in previous mass shootings, Biden urged Congress to enact gun reform legislation.

“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” Biden said. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising — not declining.”

Biden said the level of gun violence in America is “outrageous and unacceptable,” and noted that Americans “agree and want lawmakers to act on common sense gun safety reforms.”

“Instead, this past week Americans saw national Republican elected leaders stand alongside the NRA in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode gun safety. Our communities need and deserve better,” said Biden.

Apr 16, 1:05 PM EDT
Biden briefed on Dadeville shooting

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the deadly shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, according to the White House.

Biden and his staff are closely monitoring the investigation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support, according to the White House.

Apr 16, 12:40 PM EDT
Police chief pleads for prayer

An emotional Dadeville police chief pleaded for prayer for his city on Sunday and law enforcement investigators pleaded for tips from the public in finding those responsible for a shooting at a birthday party that left four dead and multiple people injured.

“The city of Dadeville is a tight-knit community, full of wonderful people. I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers. I ask you to please keep my police department in your prayers,” Police Chief Jonathan Floyd said at a news conference.

Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed the shooting broke out at a birthday party and asked for any witnesses to call the state police tip line at .

Burkett also confirmed that four people were killed and “a multitude” of people were injured, but did not disclose the conditions of those wounded.

Burkett did not take questions during the news conference. He released no information on whether any arrests have been made in the incident.

Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Raymond Porter said grief counselors will be at Dadeville schools on Monday, but did not say whether any students were among the dead or injured.

The district will make “every effort to comfort” children impacted, said Porter.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that those are the ones most impacted by this situation,” said Porter, who also called on local clergy to reach out to families of those killed or injured to offer assistance.

“I’m also asking that you please do not let this moment define what you think of the city of Dadeville,” Floyd said. “What we’re dealing with is something no community should have to endure.”

Apr 16, 10:48 AM EDT
Loved ones of those killed, injured say shooting preceded by argument: Pastor

Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, told ABC News Sunday morning that he’d been at a hospital overnight with the families of those killed and injured.

Haynes said family members told him gunfire erupted inside a small venue where a birthday party was taking place when tempers flared during an argument. Haynes said there were more than 50 people at the party when the shooting occurred.

Apr 16, 10:14 AM EDT
‘I grieve with Dadeville’: Alabama governor

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey released a statement Sunday expressing grief over a shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, that left four people dead and multiple others injured.

“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Ivey tweeted.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.) — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has called for the resignation of several local officials following the release of a recording that allegedly captured comments he called “hateful rhetoric” that were made at a McCurtain County commissioners’ meeting.

“I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County,” Stitt said in a statement. “There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office. I will not stand idly by while this takes place.”

According to the recording captured by McCurtain Gazette reporter Chris Willingham, county officials discussed plans to beat, kill and hide the bodies of local newspaper reporters, including Willingham.

Willingham is currently involved in a lawsuit against county investigator Alicia Manning, the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Department and the Board of County Commissioners in which he claims Manning defamed him and violated his civil rights, according to the McCurtain Gazette.

In Oklahoma, all meetings of public bodies must be open to its residents. However, according to the Gazette, after the public dispersed following a March 6 public meeting, officials continued to discuss county business not listed on the agenda.

According to Oklahoma law, consent to record is not required to record conversations in public where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy. The newspaper said the recording is “legally obtained.”

“I know where two big deep holes are here if you ever need them,” said one official,, according to the Gazette. Another official responds: “I’ve got an excavator.”

“I’ve known two or three hit men, they’re very quiet guys,” said the official believed to be Jennings, according to local reports. “… And would cut no f—ing mercy.”

“If a hair on his wife’s head, Bruce Willingham’s head, or any of those people that really were behind all that, if any hair on their head got touched by anybody, who would be the bad guy?” said an official believed to be county investigator Alicia Manning.

Jennings can allegedly be heard also making racist comments in the recording, saying that “if it was back in the day” when officers “would take a damn Black guy and whoop their a– and throw him in the cell? I’d run for f—ing sheriff.”

He added, “Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope. But you can’t do that anymore. They got more rights than we got.”

The governor said he will be calling on the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations to look into “whether any illegal conduct has occurred.” The OSBI, however, told ABC News it has not yet received a request.

The state Office of the Attorney General is investigating, a spokesperson told ABC News.

Stitt called for the resignation of Manning, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, who are allegedly heard in the recorded conversations, as well as Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix, who is said to have been present.

Residents have begun protesting outside of local government buildings to push for accountability regarding the comments.

Willingham, at the center of the alleged threats, told News9, he was “was completely appalled and frightened, quite frankly” upon hearing the recording.

ABC News has reached out to the Board of County Commissioners for comment.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) — The Clay County Prosecutor’s Office announced that it filed two criminal charges against a suspect in the April 13 shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri.

Andrew Lester was charged with one count of felony assault in the first degree and one count of armed criminal action, also a felony, police said Monday.

The 16-year-old Black teenager was shot Thursday night by a homeowner in Kansas City after he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings, police said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Three Americans missing off the coast of Mexico likely encountered “significant” weather and waves as they attempted to sail their 41-foot sailboat from Mazatlán to San Diego.

United States and Mexican authorities have been searching for Kerry O’Brien, Frank O’Brien, and William Gross, who have not contacted friends, family, or maritime authorities since April 4.

“When it started to reach into five, six, seven days and we started to get a little more concerned,” Kerry’s brother Mark Argall told ABC News.

U.S. Coast Guard commander Gregory Higgins expressed concern that the weather in that region worsened around April 6, with swells and wind creating waves potentially over 20 feet high. The three were sailing a capable 41-foot fiberglass boat, with similar sailboats successfully circumnavigating the planet. However, the lack of clear information about the sailors location, partially attributable to the lack of GPS tracking and poor cellular service near the Baja peninsula, has left the families of the missing Americans uncertain about their loved ones’ whereabouts.

“We have all been spinning our wheels about the different scenarios that could have happened,” Gross’ daughter Melissa Spicuzza said.

Kerry and Frank O’Brien, a married couple, initially decided to travel to Mexico to sail a 41-foot LaFitte sailboat named “Ocean Bound” to San Diego after the boat underwent repairs near Mazatlán, Mexico, according to Argall.

The couple decided to hire Gross, a mechanic by trade and sailor with more than 50 years of experience, to help navigate the boat from Mazatlán to San Diego. Spicuzza recounted that friends of Gross would compare him to the 1980s fictional television character and improvisational savant MacGyver based on his ability to repair boats.

“Whatever it takes, he’ll get it rigged up. He’ll get it working,” Spicuzza described.

The Coast Guard believes the sailors left their slip (the equivalent of a parking spot for boats) on April 2. They eventually departed Mazatlán on April 4, based on Facebook posts and cellphone usage.

The sailors expected the trip across the Gulf of California to Cabo San Lucas, where they planned to pick up provisions, would take two days. However, the Coast Guard does not believe the sailors ever stopped in Cabo San Lucas. Since April 4, marinas throughout the Baja Peninsula have not contacted the vessel, nor have any search and rescue crews spotted it.

According to Higgins, the weather worsened around April 6, with winds of 30 knots, strong swells, and waves making navigation more challenging. Spicuzza added that the sail from Mexico to California is inherently tricky since sailors need to navigate against the wind and current.

“From the tip of Baja all the way back up to Alaska, you’re going against wind and current, so it’s a more difficult, exhausting sail, but of course, doable with the experience that’s on board,” Spicuzza.

Spicuzza added that the group’s initially planned 10-day journey was likely unrealistic. Sailing against the wind and current would require the sailors to tack frequently, essentially zig-zag to make progress despite sailing into the wind, which could extend the journey to two and half weeks.

Moreover, according to the Coast Guard, the boat lacks trackable GPS navigation, such as a satellite phone or a tracking beacon. The limited cellular service in that region of Mexico also makes triangulating the cell position difficult.

Robert H. Perry, the designer of the 41-foot sailboat, noted that their boat was likely manufactured in Taiwan 35 years ago. Despite its age, the fiberglass sailboat itself was a time-tested, ocean-navigating boat.

The travel circumstances have left family members uncertain about the status of their loved ones. Based on the timing, it appears possible they are “just going to roll into San Diego like nothing happened in maybe about a week,” Spicuzza suggested, with the radio silence attributable to some electronic issue. Alternatively, the Coast Guard has worked on plotting where their life raft might have drifted under current weather conditions.

“It’s just been a roller coaster of emotions the last several days; I want my dad home, I want him safe, [and] I want the O’Brien’s home safe,” Spicuzza said. “I’m very much looking forward to sitting around a table with all of them and joking about the time they got lost at sea – that is the hope.”

ABC News’ Elisha Asif, Helena Skinner, Zohreen Shah, and Amantha.Chery contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Prosecutors in New York City on Monday asked the judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump to seek additional information from one of Trump’s attorneys who they believe may have a potential conflict of interest in the case.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 hush payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the closing weeks of the 2016 campaign. Trump has denied all charges.

Trump’s defense team includes Joe Tacopina, a lawyer Daniels once considered hiring as her attorney, and the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Tacopina’s representations so far are insufficient.

“[T]he People request that the Court make certain additional inquiries of Mr. Tacopina and conduct a Gomberg inquiry of the defendant,” executive assistant district attorney Susan Hoffinger wrote in a letter to the court, referring to a hearing that would establish that Trump knowingly opts to continue with Tacopina as his attorney notwithstanding any conflict.

Trump affirmed at his arraignment he wanted to move forward with Tacopina on his legal team, but Hoffinger said a full hearing would be needed.

She has asked the judge order Tacopina to turn over any records of his firm’s communications with Daniels, and to disclose the extent to which he may have shared any information from Daniels with Trump.

The potential conflict was raised by Daniels’ current attorney, Clark Brewster, who said in a letter to the Manhattan district attorney’s office that Daniels had a 2018 conversation with Tacopina and attorneys at his firm about them potentially representing her.

Tacopina has said he never spoke to Daniels and he told the judge his firm refused to represent her.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KANSAS City, Mo.) — A 16-year-old Black teenager was shot on Thursday night by a homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri, after he accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his siblings, police said.

Kansas City police told reporters on Sunday that the teenager, Ralph Yarl, meant to go to a house on Northeast 115th Terrace, but he went to 115th Street instead. They said he was taken to the hospital and was in stable condition as of Sunday evening.

The teenager was identified as Ralph Yarl by his family. Attorney Lee Merritt confirmed to ABC News on Sunday that he and attorney Ben Crump have been retained to represent Ralph’s family.

Merritt and Crump said in a statement on Sunday that Ralph was shot in the head and the arm and “despite the severity of his injuries,” the teenager is “alive and recovering.”

Merritt told ABC News on Monday that Ralph was released from the hospital on Saturday and is in the care of his doctors at home.

The identity of the shooter has not been released.

Amid questions over the suspect’s identity, a spokesperson for the Kansas City Police Department told ABC News Monday afternoon “the name of a suspect in a crime only becomes public upon charges being filed by the prosecutor.”

“Investigators are diligently gathering evidence and investigating as we speak in the hopes to submit a case file to the prosecutors as soon as possible,” the spokesperson told ABC News. “Our next anticipated update is when we send the case file to the prosecutors for their review and determination of applicable charges. That has not happened yet. We will update the media and the public once that has happened.”

Asked if video of the incident is available, police said, “any video would be closed record at this stage of the ongoing investigation. Detectives will routinely canvass for video, witness accounts and anything else that would give them a better idea of what led up to the incident.”

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said during a press conference Sunday evening that after the shooting, the individual who shot the teenager was taken into police custody and placed on a 24-hour investigative hold but has since been released while police investigate and present evidence to the prosecutor’s office.

“After consulting with the Clay County prosecutor’s office, the homeowner was released pending further investigation due to the need to obtain a formal statement from the victim, forensic evidence and compile additional information for a case file to be presented,” Graves said.

The suspect’s release prompted protests in the city, according to ABC News affiliate in Kansas City, KMBC, with hundreds of people taking to the streets on Sunday to demand justice for Ralph.

Merritt and Crump said in a statement on Sunday the family is demanding “swift action from the Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement to identify, arrest and prosecute to the full extent of the law the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting.”

Graves told reporters on Sunday that police “recognize the frustration” the suspect’s release “can cause in the entire criminal justice process,” but that the Kansas City police are working “expeditiously” and “thoroughly” to present the case to the Clay County prosecutor’s office to “ensure the criminal justice process continues to advance as quickly as all involved and our community deserve.”

Asked if the shooting was “racially motivated,” Graves said there’s “no indication,” but added it’s “still an active investigation” and “as a chief of police, I do recognize the racial components of this case.”

The Clay County, Missouri prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Monday that they “have not yet received a criminal referral from the Kansas City Police Department regarding this case.”

“However, we are actively working with law enforcement in an attempt to speed up that process so that we can review the file when it is submitted and determine whether criminal charges are appropriate,” the statement said. “As always, it is our mission to ensure that justice is fully pursued and that the rights of all people in Clay County are protected and upheld by law.”

ABC News has reached out to the prosecutor’s office for further comment.

Police said they plan to get a formal statement from the teenager once his medical condition allows for him to speak with law enforcement.

“I believe that he’s stable, and we’re looking forward to have an opportunity to go ahead and take a statement from him,” Graves said.

Asked why speaking Ralph is necessary to determine charges, police told ABC News on Monday that “Prosecutors require a sworn statement from victims of crimes when they are living to attest to the actions of the suspect before making an informed decision of charges.”

Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, said during the press conference on Sunday that there will be a “thorough review” of the incident by the prosecutor’s office to determine if any charges will be filed.

“As with every case that comes through Kansas City, we will make sure we do all we can to be fair, to make sure that we’re as expeditious as possible, and more than anything to make sure that everyone no matter their background, knows that justice can be obtained here in Kansas City,” Lucas said.

ABC News’ Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(AKRON, Ohio) — A grand jury has chosen not to indict officers on state criminal charges for the death of Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old who was fatally shot after a car and foot chase by police on June 27, 2022, in Akron, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.

“The grand jury just a little while ago issued what is called a no bill, meaning that there will be no state criminal action, no charges at the state level,” Yost said in a Monday press conference.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DADEVILLE, Ala.) — Four people were killed and 28 others were injured in a shooting in a rural Alabama town late Saturday.

The shooting took place at a crowded birthday party in the small town of Dadeville, located approximately 60 miles northeast of Montgomery, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Here’s what we know about the victims so far:

Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18

Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School, was one of the four people who died, his coach Roger McDowell told ABC News.

He was a star high school football player — a standout wide receiver — and track team member, his coach said.

Dowdell had committed to attending Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship, McDowell said.

“He was a great young man with a bright future,” Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State’s head football coach, tweeted. “My staff and I are heartbroken and hope that everyone will support his family through this difficult time.”

“Phil was humble with a major smile,” McDowell told ABC News. “He had one goal to get to the NFL and take care of his mom.”

Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17

Like Dowdell, Shaunkivia Smith was a senior at Dadeville High School, where she played volleyball and softball, according to family. She was also a manager for the track and football teams, McDowell said.

Smith, who went by “Ke,” was a model student-athlete who was looking forward to attending the University of Alabama in the fall, her cousin, Amy Jackson, told ABC News.

“She just always told my son that she was gonna go to school — she wanted to go to college,” Jackson said.

Smith often took care of her younger brother and sister and “helped her mom every which way she could,” Jackson said.

“She had a smile that was contagious. I mean, she smiled, you’re going to smile back,” Jackson said.

Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23
Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19

ABC News’ Emily Shapiro and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — A federal judge in New York on Monday denied former President Donald Trump’s latest attempt to delay the trial in the defamation and battery case brought by former Elle columnist E. Jean Carroll.

Carroll sued Trump in November, alleging he defamed her by calling her a liar when he denied her claim that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the 1990s. She added a charge of battery under a recently adopted New York law that allows adult survivors of sexual abuse to sue their alleged attacker regardless of the statute of limitations.

Trump has repeatedly denied Carroll’s allegations.

Trump sought a one-month delay of the trial, slated to begin on April 25, arguing a “cooling off” period was necessary following intense media coverage of his criminal indictment in Manhattan last month in connection with an alleged hush money payment to an adult film actress.

The judge called the suggestion that the coverage could preclude the selection of a fair jury “pure speculation.”

“There is no justification for an adjournment,” Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled. “This case is entirely unrelated to the state prosecution.”

The judge included a pointed reminder that the postponement Trump sought may be a mixed blessing.

“Events happen during postponements. Sometimes they can make matters worse,” Kaplan wrote in this decision, noting the multiple criminal and investigations Trump faces.

“Developments in at least one of these matters, as well as actions and statements by Mr. Trump in relation to any, may well give rise to intense publicity that, in some respects, Mr. Trump might claim to be prejudicial in this case,” the judge said. “Mr. Trump’s suggestion that a one-month trial postponement in this case would ensure the absence of any such developments in the period immediately preceding jury selection is not realistic.”

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(DADEVILLE, Ala.) — Four people were killed and 28 others injured when a mass shooting broke out at a crowded sweet 16 birthday party in rural Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday night, authorities said.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Apr 17, 9:32 AM EDT
Police have ‘solid leads’ but need help from public

The Dadeville Police Department has “solid leads” as they search for the suspected shooter, but authorities still need help from the public, Dadeville Police Chief Jonathan Floyd told ABC News on Monday.

Floyd asked anyone with photos or videos from Saturday night’s sweet 16 party to come forward.

Due to the department’s manpower and resources, Floyd said the Alabama State Bureau of Investigations is taking the lead with the investigation.

-ABC News’ Elwyn Lopez

Apr 16, 7:00 PM EDT
Star high school athlete killed in shooting

One of the four people killed in the mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama, was a star high school football player and track team member, his coach told ABC News.

Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School, had committed to attending Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship, said coach Roger McDowell.

McDowell said Dowdell was at a sweet 16 birthday party at a venue in Dadeville Saturday night when a shooting erupted.

In addition to those killed, at least 28 people were injured. McDowell said Dowdell’s mother, who was a chaperone at the party, was among those hurt, shot twice in the legs.

Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State’s head football coach, said in a post on Twitter Sunday, that the death of Dowdell and the other victims is a “senseless tragedy.”

“He was a great young man with a bright future,” Rodriguez tweeted. “My staff and I are heartbroken and hope that everyone will support his family through this difficult time.”

McDowell said he also knew a teenage girl who was killed in the shooting. He said she was a senior and the manager of the track and football teams.

In addition to being a standout wide receiver, Dowdell was also a member of the high school track team, McDowell said.

“Phil was humble with a major smile,” McDowell told ABC News. “He had one goal to get to the NFL and take care of his mom.”

-ABC News’ Elwyn Lopez

Apr 16, 6:45 PM EDT
28 injured, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says

The number of people injured during the course of the incident is 28, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Sunday.

Some of those injuries are critical, and there’s a wide variety of injures, according to the ALEA.

Authorities didn’t mention a suspect or suspects, or an arrest, as of Sunday evening. Police said earlier in the day there was “no public safety risk at this time.”

Central Alabama Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for any information.

-ABC News’ Matt Foster

Apr 16, 4:20 PM EDT
Biden calls on congress to enact gun reform

President Joe Biden released a statement Sunday calling on Congress to enact “common sense” gun control legislation in response to shootings over the weekend in Alabama and Kentucky that left a total of six people dead.

“This morning, our nation is once again grieving for at least four Americans tragically killed at a teen’s birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama as well as two others killed last night in a crowded public park in Louisville,” Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for their families, and for the many others injured and fighting for their lives in the wake of this weekend’s gun violence.”

As he has done in previous mass shootings, Biden urged Congress to enact gun reform legislation.

“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theater, or to the park?” Biden said. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising — not declining.”

Biden said the level of gun violence in America is “outrageous and unacceptable,” and noted that Americans “agree and want lawmakers to act on common sense gun safety reforms.”

“Instead, this past week Americans saw national Republican elected leaders stand alongside the NRA in a race to the bottom on dangerous laws that further erode gun safety. Our communities need and deserve better,” said Biden.

Apr 16, 1:05 PM EDT
Biden briefed on Dadeville shooting

President Joe Biden has been briefed on the deadly shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, according to the White House.

Biden and his staff are closely monitoring the investigation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support, according to the White House.

Apr 16, 12:40 PM EDT
Police chief pleads for prayer

An emotional Dadeville police chief pleaded for prayer for his city on Sunday and law enforcement investigators pleaded for tips from the public in finding those responsible for a shooting at a birthday party that left four dead and multiple people injured.

“The city of Dadeville is a tight-knit community, full of wonderful people. I ask you to please keep our community in your prayers. I ask you to please keep my police department in your prayers,” Police Chief Jonathan Floyd said at a news conference.

Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed the shooting broke out at a birthday party and asked for any witnesses to call the state police tip line at .

Burkett also confirmed that four people were killed and “a multitude” of people were injured, but did not disclose the conditions of those wounded.

Burkett did not take questions during the news conference. He released no information on whether any arrests have been made in the incident.

Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Raymond Porter said grief counselors will be at Dadeville schools on Monday, but did not say whether any students were among the dead or injured.

The district will make “every effort to comfort” children impacted, said Porter.

“Don’t lose sight of the fact that those are the ones most impacted by this situation,” said Porter, who also called on local clergy to reach out to families of those killed or injured to offer assistance.

“I’m also asking that you please do not let this moment define what you think of the city of Dadeville,” Floyd said. “What we’re dealing with is something no community should have to endure.”

Apr 16, 10:48 AM EDT
Loved ones of those killed, injured say shooting preceded by argument: Pastor

Ben Haynes, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dadeville, told ABC News Sunday morning that he’d been at a hospital overnight with the families of those killed and injured.

Haynes said family members told him gunfire erupted inside a small venue where a birthday party was taking place when tempers flared during an argument. Haynes said there were more than 50 people at the party when the shooting occurred.

Apr 16, 10:14 AM EDT
‘I grieve with Dadeville’: Alabama governor

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey released a statement Sunday expressing grief over a shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, that left four people dead and multiple others injured.

“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,” Ivey tweeted.

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