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Officials have identified the 4 people who died in the Alabama shooting

Norman Brooks covers the door of the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio, the scene of Saturday's deadly mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama.
Megan Varner
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Norman Brooks covers the door of the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio, the scene of Saturday's deadly mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama.

Updated April 17, 2023 at 9:25 PM ET

Authorities have named the four people who were killed in a shooting at a birthday party on Saturday in Dadeville, Ala., though many details of the incident at a dance studio remain opaque.

On Monday, Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox said the victims are:

  • 23-year-old Corbin Dahmontrey Holston of Dadeville
  • 18-year-old Philstavious Dowdell of Camp Hill
  • 19-year-old Marsiah Emmanuel Collins of Opelika
  • 17-year-old Shaunkivia Nicole Smith of Dadeville
  • Another 32 people were injured, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said on Monday evening, an increase from when authorities said on Sunday that 28 people were injured.

    ALEA said investigators have not found any "high-powered rifle ammunition" at the scene, but have found numerous shell casings from handgun ammunition.

    "Investigators are still processing all of the evidence, in conjunction with completing interviews, in an effort to solidify a motive and potential suspects," the agency said on Monday evening.

    It was unclear how many of the injured victims were wounded by gunfire.

    "Please understand that this is a complex and fluid situation," the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a tweet Monday morning. "As additional information becomes available, we will be sure to share it as soon as possible."

    Details are emerging about those who were killed

    Dowdell's grandmother, Annette Allen, said the shooting occurred at her granddaughter's 16th birthday party at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio and that her daughter was also injured and hospitalized.

    She told the Montgomery Advertiser that her grandson would have graduated from high school in a few weeks and was planning to attend Jacksonville State on a football scholarship.

    "This is a small community and they just wanted to enjoy the birthday party," Allen told NPR member station Troy Public Radio.

    Like Dowdell, Smith was also a senior at Dadeville High School.

    And Holston went to the party after a younger relative warned him there might be danger, his family told AL.com.

    "Corbin was selfless when it came to his family and friends and always tried to be a protector,'' his mother Janett Heard said. "That's just the type of person he was."

    Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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    Susanna Capelouto