A shooting took place at a birthday party on Saturday in Dadeville, Alabama. Philstavious or Phil Dowdell who was a high school football player was killed in the shooting, as reported by authorities
4 people were killed in a deadly shooting and Phil Dowdell was one among them. The shooting took place at a birthday party near 10:30 p.m. according to Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. The motive of the shooting is not yet clear and neither is it reported whether the suspect is in custody or not.
Who is Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell Dadeville football player killed during shooting in Alabama during sister’s birthday party: Bio and obituary
Let’s work🐔❤️@Coach_DiAngelo @JaxStateFB @CoachRGarrett @HallTechSports1 @DexPreps pic.twitter.com/NGQYFsjDaD
— Philstavious Dowdell (@philstavious) February 1, 2023
High-school football star and honor student Phil Dowdell was set to graduate with a scholarship to play at Jacksonville State University… sadly he was killed at his sisters “Sweet 16” party in Alabama on Saturday night. RIP 🙏😔 pic.twitter.com/qb4zOAIAjL
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) April 16, 2023
“Four people have tragically lost their lives in this incident and there have been multiple injuries,” Burkett said.
As per some of the media outlets, 20 people may have been shot at the birthday party.
Who was Phil Dowdell?
Phil Dowdell was a Dadeville footballer who had recently committed to Jacksonville State University to play as a wide receiver. As per Ben Hayes, the senior pastor at the Dadeville First Baptist Church, and team chaplain of Dadeville High School, who is chaplain of the Dadeville police, the birthday party where this incident happened was Dowdell’s sister’s event.
‘It’s very sad, a sad scene. It was really a rough night.’ He said.
On 8th April, Dowdell uploaded on his Facebook, “Every day in my life goes up & up, it’s hard for me to get mad.” Michael Taylor, the assistant coach of football, basketball, and track at Dadeville High visited the crime scene. He declared that Dowdell was a slot receiver and “one of best football players of the state.”
“In this small town, we don’t have too many crimes like what has happened, so it’s really really shocking, very shocking,” Taylor said
As per Hayes, some arguments turned into a shooting. Any other details were not revealed by him regarding this incident. “This is a good family of community, good kids, Some of the best people are heading the party.”
The police have not given any statement and the identity of the shooters is also not disclosed yet by the authorities.
Annette Allen was quoted by NPR as saying the event was the 16th birthday party for her granddaughter Alexis and said her daughter was wounded and sent to an area hospital.
Dowdell, a slot receiver, was one of the best football players in the state and was also an honor student who played basketball and won state honors in track in 2022.
According to the Alexander City Outlook, at the Troy Invitational, Dowdell placed first in the 100 dash and second in the 200 dash.