Birthday girl at Alabama Sweet 16 where four were shot dead reveals she was saved by her brother

The birthday girl at a Sweet 16th party where four people were shot and killed when a mass shooter opened fire has revealed her brother was one of the victims.

Alexis Dowdell told the BBC in a heartbreaking interview that her brother Philstavious ‘Phil’ Dowdell, 18, saved her life only to be shot himself and die in her arms, in Dadesville, Alabama on Saturday night.

“I told him to be strong,” Alexis said of her last moments with her brother, who had a Dadeville High School senior who committed to Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship.

Keke Smith, 17, Marsiah Collins, 19, and Corbin Holston, 23, were also killed, while more than two dozen others were injured at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio where the birthday party was taking place.

During the party, rumors spread that someone had a gun. The DJ stopped the music and asked the person who was armed to leave, when no one did, the party continued. Moments later, at around 10:30 p.m., gunshots rang out and panic ensued.

“Suddenly you hear gunshots and you just see everyone running to the door and people falling and screaming,” Alexis said in her interview.

At one point, Alexis said her brother pushed her to the ground. Amidst the chaos, the couple got divorced. She managed to escape the room unharmed.

When she went back inside, she found her brother lying seriously injured on the floor.

Alexis went on to say that her brother was extremely polite and would open doors for others and would always be the first to apologize when the siblings argued.

His mother, LaToya Allen, told the BBC that her son made her proud “in every way”.

“A piece of my heart has been ripped out. He was due to graduate next month. It is said that I go to graduation, I go to the cemetery to see my son, “she said.”

Jacksonville State football coach Rich Rodriguez said in a statement Sunday: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Philstavious Dowdell and the other victims of last night’s senseless tragedy. He was a wonderful young man with a bright future.’

Dowdell also recently won medals in a high school track meeting at Troy University.

Guidance was available Monday for students at Tallapoosa County schools, said school district superintendent Raymond C. Porter.

“This morning I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my Alabama countrymen. Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we will be closely monitored by law enforcement as details emerge,” Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said on social media.

President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in contact with local officials and law enforcement to offer support.

“What happened to our country if children can’t go to a birthday party without fear? What if parents have to worry every time their children go to school, to the cinema or to the park?’ Biden said in a statement on Sunday.

Guns are the number one killer of children in America, and the numbers are increasing – not decreasing. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”

Biden called on Congress to “require safe storage of firearms, require background checks on all gun sales, remove gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.”

The mayor said Dowdell was “a wonderful young man.” He also said he was concerned about the injured and psychologically traumatized victims of the shooting.

“We pray for them,” Goodman said. “We ask God, if it be His will, to return them safely to their parents so that they can recover.”

Goodman said guns and violence are uncommon in Dadeville. He said trying to control guns would be as futile as trying to control illegal drugs.

Dadeville High School had 485 students in grades 6-12 in 2022, according to data from the state of Alabama. It serves Dadeville and nearby parts of Tallapoosa County. Like the rest of Dadeville, it is just out of sight on a busy highway that runs from Birmingham to Auburn.

Dadeville High head football coach Roger McDonald said he would do his best to support grieving students.

“There’s no script for something like this,” he said. “So the best thing you need to do is love your kids, let them all know how much you care, be there for them.”

McDonald said Dowdell had something special.

“He was a leader and, to the best of his ability, an exciting player,” said the coach.

Michael Taylor, an assistant coach, said he met Dowdell when the boy was 9 and coached him in youth football. Taylor said the team was invited to Atlanta to play at the stadium used by the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons.

“He did great things there and has never stopped since,” he said. “He was the number 1 athlete in the school.”

Taylor said he last heard from Dowdell on Friday, when Dowdell was looking for videos of his athletic exploits. Taylor said he drove to the scene of the shooting from his home in nearby Camp Hill on Saturday night.

“Man, I couldn’t get close,” Taylor said. “So when I found out what was going on, I really had to leave because it was going to last all night.”

Taylor said he returned on Sunday to see Dowdell’s body carried from the dance studio. He said he is not sure what he will tell other athletes on Monday.

“The first thing we need to do is pray that we get out of this,” Taylor said on Sunday. ‘There’s no other way. And then I can tell you, they are all very close as a family in high school.”

This is at least the second time in recent years that multiple people have been shot in Dadeville. Five people were injured in a July 2016 shooting at an American Legion hall, and one man was later charged with five counts of attempted murder, news outlets reported.