Three people, including two teenage brothers, have been arrested in connection with a shooting at a "Sweet 16" birthday in Alabama that left four people dead and 32 injured, authorities said on April 19.
Initially Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Sgt. Jeremy Burkett told reporters that the two brothers — Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, of Tuskegee — were arrested on charges of reckless murder on April 18.
Both brothers are being charged as adults.
Later on April 19, officials announced that Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn had also been arrested and charged in the shooting. He faces four counts of reckless murder, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, or ALEA, said. It was not immediately clear whether or not the brothers or Hill Jr. had legal representation.
Shots were fired just after 10:30 p.m. on April 15 at the party, officials said, which was held at a dance studio in Dadeville, roughly 25 miles northwest of Auburn University.
Friends and family members were gathered at the party to celebrate the 16th birthday of Alexis Dowdell, whose brother was among those shot and killed.
Police identified the shooting's four victims as as Shaunkivia Smith, 17; Philstavious Dowdell, 18; Marsiah Collins, 19; and Corbin Holston, 23.
Four others who were shot have been hospitalized and are listed in critical condition, Fifth Judicial Circuit District Attorney Mike Segrest said at a press conference Wednesday.
According to NBC News, a DJ who attended the party said that shots were fired about an hour after a person with a gun was barred from the event.
Hill’s father, Wilson LaMar Hill Sr., told NBC News in a phone interview that the family was in the process of hiring an attorney. He said Hill is not a bad person and “I don’t know how he got caught up with this.”
“I’m just praying for him and all the victims,” he told NBC News. “I’m praying for the victims and my son.”