Four people have been killed and more are injured following a shooting in Alabama yesterday evening.
The shooting happened at around 10.30pm local time on Saturday at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in Dadeville.
It’s thought the shooting may have taken place during a birthday party.
There is currently no confirmation about what led to the shooting or whether a suspect is in custody.
Alabama governor Kay Ivey said in a statement on social media: ‘This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians.
‘Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge.’
Eyewitness accounts suggested around 20 people could have been shot, many of whom are believed to be teenagers, MailOnline reports.
It’s thought the shooting happened during a teenager’s ‘sweet 16’ birthday celebration and witnesses saw several people running and screaming from the scene.
The scene was still cordoned off by police on Sunday morning, with tarpaulin hanging over the glass door of the dance studio.
Large crowds were seen outside the emergency departments of local hospitals, including the Russell Medical Centre in Alexander City.
Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team, said the shooting has rocked the small town where serious crime is rare.
He said: ‘One of the young men that was killed was one of our star athletes and just a great guy. So I knew many of these students.
‘Dadeville is a small town and this is going to affect everybody in this area.’
Dadeville is a town with a population of 3,000 about 45 miles north east of the state’s capital, Montgomery.
There have been 163 mass shootings in the U.S. so far this year, excluding the attack in Dadeville, according to the independent group Gun Violence Archive.
They define a mass shooting as any event in which there were four or more victims, excluding the shooter.
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