Alabama Sweet 16 party turns deadly; mass shooting kills 4, injures 28

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
17 Apr 2023 08:18

The motivation for the shooting that occurred in Dadeville, Alabama, on Saturday night remains unknown.

The entrance door of the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio on Sunday (Reuters)

Authorities in the city of Dadeville, Alabama, reported that a mass shooting at a birthday party on Saturday night resulted in four fatalities and 28 other injuries, some of which are critical.

Just after 10:30 pm local time, an attack occurred at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio as guests gathered for a Sweet 16 party.

By Sunday night, law enforcement authorities had still not disclosed any information regarding a motive or whether any suspects had been identified.

During a press briefing, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said, "This is also a very fluid situation," adding that investigators are still attempting to determine who was inside the studio building at the time of the mass shooting.

He didn't specify how many of the 28 wounded received gunshots, or how many of them were in critical condition.

Furthermore, he invited members of the community to come forward with any information that might be relevant.

The hospital in Dadeville, administered by Ivy Creek Healthcare, handled at least 15 victims of gunshot wounds, according to Heidi Smith, director of marketing.

More mass shootings than days in the year

In comparison to other similarly large and rich countries, the United States is a glaring outlier since guns are the top cause of death for children. The number one cause of death for children in 2020 was gun violence, overtaking sickness, and auto accidents.

Despite the bleak warnings accompanied by the many mass shootings, the #US is still plunged in the #gunviolence epidemic, and it doesn't seem that it will stop any time soon. pic.twitter.com/8VSQMpWGOd
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) February 22, 2023

Gun control has been heavily debated within US politics in recent years after thousands of lives were claimed by gunfire.

However, it is still unclear if any real legislative measures will be taken to protect children and the US population on a broader level.

The nonprofit organization Gun Violence Archive reports that there have been 161 mass shootings in the United States so far this year. A mass shooting, according to the group, is any incident in which there were four or more victims total, excluding the gunman. The shooting on Saturday happened less than a week after a shooter in Louisville, Kentucky, opened fire at a bank, killing five people and injuring nine more.