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“The indication is that they all died of gunshot wounds,” Knox said. “But the forensic department is still conducting autopsies to determine the exact cause of death.”
Authorities have been tight-lipped about the shooting, which rocked the town of 3,000 people in Tallapoosa County, roughly 50 miles northeast of Montgomery. Authorities have not yet identified the shooter and have asked for tips.
Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is leading the investigation into the shooting, said Sunday the scene is safe and there is no risk to the public. ALEA officials said Monday morning that they had no updates.
One of those killed, Dowdell, planned to attend Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship.
“We worked together on the process for scholarships at Jacksonville State,” said Mardracus Russell, a coach of the high school track team. “As a teacher you get so attached and build relationships with these students. For something to happen like this, it’s like someone stabbed me.”
Dowdell was on the track team, and his “main thing was running the 100 and 200 meter,” said Russell, who added that Dowdell holds the state title for both races.
“He’s not only a great athlete but a great student,” Russell said. “What inspires me the most about him is he’s so goal-oriented, anything he sets his mind to he does his bit to achieve it. He always had a smile on his face; he’s truly uplifting.”
Russell confirmed that Dowdell was attending his sister’s birthday party when the shooting began.
On Saturday night, Lake Martin Community Hospital, which is a three-minute drive from the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio in downtown Dadeville, where the shooting occurred, received 15 patients with gunshot wounds, said Heidi Smith, the marketing director of Ivy Creek Healthcare, which runs the hospital.
Six people stayed at Lake Martin for treatment, and nine were sent away to four other hospitals in the area, Smith said at a Monday morning news conference. Most of the wounded sent elsewhere were in critical condition.
Smith said that all of Dadeville is reeling from the shooting and that the medical community was providing counseling to children in the city, the families of those affected and the hospital staff on duty Saturday night.
“Treating one gunshot wound is traumatic, and when you have 15 and they are all children, it’s a lot,” she said. “Our job now is to take care of the community and our staff.”
The party for a 16-year-old girl had been uneventful until the girl’s mother told the crowd of several dozen people that she had learned somebody there had a gun, said Keenan Cooper, who was hired to DJ the party. The mother asked them to leave, Cooper added, but no one did.
“I should have shut it down,” Cooper told The Washington Post on Sunday, standing outside the police tape blocking off the scene of the shooting. He was waiting for police to release his DJ equipment.
The shooting came an hour later. Cooper said he quickly dropped to the ground, then grabbed six people and pushed them under his DJ booth. He described it as five minutes of “nonstop shots.”
Bobby Presley said Sunday that a frantic call from his 16-year-old daughter woke him up about 10 p.m. the night before. Shakaya Presley had just escaped America’s latest mass killing. She was shot twice through both her thighs, her father told The Post.
Superintendent Raymond Porter said schools in the area would provide counseling for students Monday.
Anumita Kaur and Paulina Villegas contributed to this report from Washington. Javaid reported from Washington, and Reiley from Tampa.
