Alabama football star headed to college on scholarship ID’d as among 4 dead in shooting at sister’s ‘Sweet 16’ party

A high-school football star set to graduate in a few weeks with a scholarship to play in college was killed during Alabama’s weekend mass shooting, which occurred at a “Sweet 16” birthday party for his little sister.

Phil Dowdell, who recently committed to playing wide receiver at Jacksonville State University, was one of four people slain at the celebration for his sibling Alexis, his stricken grandmother, Annette Allen, told the Montgomery Adviser.

“He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face,” Allen said.

A week ago, Dowdell posted on Facebook, “everyday my life go up & up, it’s hard for me to get mad.”

The same day, he shared snaps of himself and his senior-prom date, both of whom wore sparkly yellow outfits, with him in shorts and a matching jacket.

His sister updated her Facebook profile picture Sunday morning to a photo of her kissing her brother’s cheek.

Dowdell’s mother was among the more than 20 other people injured in the melee, sustaining two gunshot wounds, Allen said.

The tragic teen, who had a “million-dollar smile,” was getting ready to graduate before heading off to Jacksonville State on a football scholarship, his grandma said.

Multiple teenagers were among those shot when the gunfire broke out at about 10:30 p.m. at the Mohagany Masterpiece dance studio in the tiny town Dadeville about 60 miles east of the state capital of Montgomery.

Allen told the newspaper that following the shooting, a lot of parents did not know where their children were and had to go from hospital to hospital to try and find them.

Most of the shooting’s victims were teens, according to Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team.

“One of the young men that was killed was one of our star athletes and just a great guy,” Hayes told The Associated Press. “So I knew many of these students. Dadeville is a small town, and this is going to affect everybody in this area.” 

As many as 250 people gathered outside an east Alabama hospital early Sunday to learn the fate of their loved ones who attended the birthday party, Hayes told AL.com.

“It was a very sad, sad scene,” he said. “A very rough night.”

“This is a good family in our community, good kids,” Hayes told the outlet. “Some of the best people heading this party.”

According to Hayes, the shooting occurred during some kind of argument, though police have not revealed any information regarding a suspect or shared what they believe led to the violence.

Multiple law enforcement agencies have been assisting the Dadeville Police Department, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office.

Police plan to provide another update at 5 p.m. CDT Sunday.