On April 15, Dadeville was met with a mass shooting off North Broadnax Street resulting in four deaths and 32 injured. The original gathering that night was for Alexis Dowdell’s 16th birthday party held inside Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio.
Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell of Camp Hill, Corbin Dahmontrey Holston of Dadeville, Marsiah Emmanuel Collins of Opelika and Shaunkivia “KeKe” Nicole Smith of Dadeville were the four deaths.
During the aftermath, multiple prayer vigils were held in memory and honor of the victims. Four days later, two arrests were made. Over the course of the week, six arrests were made including Willie George Brown Jr., 19, and Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, both of Auburn, and Johnny Letron Brown, 20, Ty Reik McCullough, 17, Travis McCullough, 16, and Sherman Peters III, 15, all of Tuskegee.
By May, the suspects were indicted on 145 counts and denied bond. Come October, the three suspects under the age of 18 were all denied youthful offender status.
During the months after the shooting, the community came together with local school systems increasing mental health services, fundraisers for the victims and their families being organized and law enforcement being recognized for their work.
The site of the shooting became a memorial for loved ones with a banner hung by local students reading “Dadeville Strong” and flowers, candles and picture frames all lining the front facade of the building. Memorial services continued to be held in the following weeks.
“My favorite place to be is my best friend's house, having a girls night and just laughing and playing around,” a letter from KeKe read during her memorial service.
Graduation that May was met with empty chairs and family members shared how they have coped with the loss. School athletes carried on, remembering their fellow teammates and finding ways to honor their lost friends. Those who were injured during the shooting slowly returned home and some began to share their stories days after the tragedy.
“I was asking like why them, why not me?,” survivor Shaniyah McCoy said in April of seeing Phil dead at the scene. “I was crying, I was trying to be strong for them. I almost wrecked out the parking lot. They all I got; they the only people I hang with.”
The shooting saw several victims from Elmore County who survived.
Across Elmore County several teens died unexpectedly in the past year.