Global Courant 2023-04-21 08:30:54
DADEVILLE, Ala. On Thursday, three more people were arrested in connection with a shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama that killed four people and injured dozens more, authorities said.
A 15-year-old who was not named because of his age; Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee; and Willie George Brown Jr., 19, of Auburn, were arrested Thursday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.
The arrests bring the total number of people arrested in connection with Saturday’s shooting in Dadeville to six.
All six have been charged with four counts of reckless murder.
The gunfire, which injured 32 people in addition to the four dead, erupted around 10:34 p.m. Saturday at a dance studio on Broadnax Street in Dadeville where friends and family were celebrating the birthday of a 16-year-old girl, police said. .
All of the people arrested and charged, except the 15-year-old, are being held without bail, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, or ALEA, said.
Johnny Letron Brown has a clean record and will be attending Faulkner University in the fall to play NAIA football, said his mother, Amanda Riley.
‘He didn’t shoot. When the guns started firing, he fell to the ground,” she said. “My kids don’t carry guns, I’m going to tell you that now. The FBI just searched my house. They couldn’t find any guns in my house. They didn’t find a bullet in my house or in my backyard shed.’
Victim Taniya Cox, who wears a plaster cast, prays with her family during a vigil at First Baptist Church in Dadeville on Sunday.Jake Crandall / The Advertiser / USA Today Network
Riley said Thursday that her son and Willie George Brown Jr. being full cousins. She declined to comment on behalf of Brown Jr. because, she said, she was unaware of his alleged role at the party. Other relatives of Brown Jr. were not immediately available for comment Thursday afternoon.
Tyreese “Ty Reik” McCullough, 17, and his brother Travis McCullough, 16, who also live in Tuskegee, were arrested Tuesday night, while Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn, was taken into custody Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.
The four people killed were Shaunkivia Smith, 17; Marsiah Collins, 19; Corbin Holston, 23; and Philstavious Dowdell, 18.
Dowdell is the brother of Alexis Dowdell, who celebrated her birthday that night, said 5th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest.
Dadeville is about 25 miles northwest of Auburn University.
Jamie Morrison reported from Dadeville and David K. Li from New York City.
Antonio Planas, Madelyn Urabe and Phil Helsel contributed.
