A teenager among the four killed in a mass shooting at a 16th birthday party in Alabama died trying to save his sister’s life, family says.
Phil Dowdell, 18, pushed the birthday girl, Alexis Dowdell, to the ground after shots rang out during a celebration at a dance studio in Dowdell’s community.
“The last thing I said to him was to stay strong,” Alexis told JEE News.
Thirty-two other people were injured in the attack on Saturday night.
Alexis said that Phil went to get her after hearing that someone had a weapon.
He added that as the shot rang out, he pushed her to the ground before the two were separated in the scuffle.
Later, when she found him again, Alexis said her dying brother was unable to speak, though he opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows as she held him in her arms.
Alexis and her mother, Latonia Allen, told JEE News they did not know what led to the shooting.
Ms Allen said her son made her “in every way” proud.
“A piece of my heart has been ripped out,” she said. “He was supposed to graduate next month. Instead of me graduating, I’ll be going to the cemetery to see my son.”
Police have not yet named a suspect or a motive in the shooting in Dadeville, a small nearby town of about 3,000.
He has said little about the investigation, but has appealed to the public to come forward with information.
A local priest in the city told JEE News that the attacker is still at large.
Ms Allen said she believed the shooting was carried out by more than one person.
Shawnkivia Smith, 17, Marcia Collins, 19, and Corbin Holston, 23, were also killed.
Relatives and friends of Ms. Smith said she was about to graduate from high school.
Mr. Collins was a varsity football player who hoped to become a lawyer. His family said Mr. Holston had come to the party to check on a family member when he heard trouble was brewing.
Ms Allen said she had heard rumors that someone at the party had a gun before the shooting started.
So she turned on the lights and went to the DJ booth and spoke into the microphone, telling the person with the firearm to leave the party.
When no one spoke, he turned off the lights.
After a while, chaos broke out in the studio, Alexis said.
“All of a sudden you hear gunshots and you see everyone running towards the door and people falling and screaming,” he told JEE News.
Alexis said she was able to escape from the venue. He said that before anyone came to his aid, and they went to hide behind another building in case the attacker was still on the loose.
When she returned to the scene, she said she discovered her brother had been shot.
She said her brother was bleeding profusely at the time, and she stayed with him until he regained consciousness.
Deville Mayor Jimmy Frank Goodman Sr. told JEE News that the hospital was in chaos after the shooting, worse than anything he had seen while serving in the Vietnam War.
He said there were people crying, bodies going to the emergency room and bloody clothes on the ground.
The oldest of three siblings, Phil Dowdell was remembered by members of his community as a star player and a loyal friend. He was to attend Jacksonville State University on a sports scholarship.
Alexis said she enjoyed watching her brother play soccer and laughing with him. She said that he always opened the door for others and would come to her room to apologize whenever they had a fight.
She added that her birthday would never be the same.
Flags are flown at half-staff outside Dadeville High School. A vigil was held for the four victims on Sunday. Hundreds of people participated in the shooting, including those who were injured.
Local board of education deputy superintendent Casey Davis said chaplains and grief counselors will be available to the community.
The Deadville attack brings the U.S. to the milestone of more than 160 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines incidents in which four or more people are shot. .
