Four people have been killed and many others injured in a shooting in Alabama, officials said.
The incident reportedly happened late Saturday night at a teen’s 16th birthday party in Dardville, Taraposa County.
It is not yet known whether the suspect has been taken into custody.
Just before 11am local time (5pm BST), Senior Sergeant Jeremy Burkett from Alabama Law Enforcement confirmed the shooting was “related to a birthday party”.
“Four people lost their lives in this incident, not death, but life,” he said, adding that “many more were injured”.
“We’re going to continue to approach this scenario in a very methodical way, looking at the facts and making sure that justice is done for these families. And we’re going to do that,” he added.
Headteacher Raymond Porter added that counseling services for current students would be available tomorrow.
“We will do everything we can to reassure these children and not lose sight of the fact that they are the ones most affected by this situation,” he said.
The next police update will be in two hours – around 1pm local time (7pm BST).
‘We will not let this tragedy define us’
“In a Dance Studio” Shot
The incident took place at a dance studio, WRBL-TV reported, and the station showed crime scene video footage surrounding the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio and adjacent buildings, along with a large police presence.
The Rev. Ben Hayes, who chaplains the Dardville Police Department and the local high school football team, said most of the victims were young adults because the shooting happened at a teen’s birthday party.
He said the shooting had shaken the town, which has few serious crimes, and described one of the victims as a “good guy.”
“I know a lot of these students,” he said. “Dadeville is a small town and this will affect everyone in the area.”
this Alabama Law enforcement agencies said the shooting happened around 10:30 p.m., but did not provide any information on a possible motive.
The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Fifth Circuit District Attorney’s Office are also on scene and assisting with the investigation.
“My grief is with the people of Dardville and my fellow Alabamas this morning,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said in a statement.
“Violent crime has no place in our state and we are closely monitoring updates from law enforcement as details emerge.”
December 2022: The true scale of America’s gun problem
Where did the shooting happen?
Dardville is a small city of about 3,000 people located 45 miles northeast of Montgomery, Alabama.
read more:
America’s Gun Problem Is Shocking—and Getting Worse
America’s gun problem is isolated
There have been 162 mass shootings in the country so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
The Dardville shooting came within weeks of two high-profile mass shootings in nearby Tennessee and Kentucky, prompting local leaders last week to call for stricter gun control measures.
No matter where you get the podcast, you can click to subscribe to Sky News Daily
A bank employee shot and killed five co-workers and wounded nine others at his Louisville, Kentucky, workplace on Monday.
On March 27, a former student at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, killed three nine-year-olds and three staff members.