4th arrest made in birthday party shooting that left 4 dead, 32 injured

ByNadine El-Bawab ABCNews logo
Thursday, April 20, 2023
Alabama police arrest 2 teens for birthday party shooting
Two teens have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with an Alabama shooting that killed four young people at a Sweet 16 birthday party.

Four people, including two teenagers, have been arrested in connection with a deadly shooting at a birthday party in Alabama over the weekend where four victims were killed and 32 others were injured.

Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, both of Tuskegee, have each been charged with four counts of reckless murder. They have both been charged as adults. The suspects were arrested and officially charged on Tuesday.

Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn, was arrested on Wednesday and also formally charged with four counts of reckless murder, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency announced. Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee, was arrested and formally charged with four counts of reckless murder on Thursday, according to the ALEA.

NOTE: The video in the media player is from a previous report.

Four victims are still in the hospital in critical condition.

The shooting took place at a crowded birthday party in the small town of Dadeville, located approximately 60 miles northeast of Montgomery, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

"Make no mistake, this is Alabama and when you pull out a gun, and you start shooting people, we're gonna put you in jail," Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. JeremyBurkett said at a press conference Wednesday.

Ty Reik McCullough and Travis McCullough will have a bond hearing within 72 hours where prosecutors will be asking for no bond, according to Mike Segrest, district attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Alabama.

Officials said they are still in the early stages of the investigation and more charges will be coming. Officials asked anyone who has information or was present at the shooting to come forward.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Segrest said. "We're going to make sure every one of those victims has justice and not just the deceased."

Officials did not reveal whether they have identified a motive for the shooting.

One of the victims killed in the shooting -- 18-year-old Philstavious Dowdell -- was attending his sister's 16th birthday party, according to Segrest.

"There were so many kids in this venue and what they saw, they're victims in this. Their families are victims of this," Segrest said at a press conference Wednesday.

In addition to Dowdell, the three others killed in the shooting were identified as 23-year-old Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 19-year-old Marsiah Emmanuel Collins and 17-year-old Shaunkivia Nicole Smith.