The Other McCain

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Dadeville Update: Six Suspects Now in Custody for ‘Sweet 16’ Massacre

Posted on | April 21, 2023 | 1 Comment

When we last updated on Wednesday, two teenage brothers from Tuskegee, Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, had been charged in last weekend’s mass shooting at a “Sweet 16” birthday party in Dadesville, Alabama, that left four dead and dozens injured. Late Wednesday night, Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn was added to the list of those arrested and charged in the shooting, and then yesterday, authorities announced the arrest of Johnny Letron Brown, 20, of Tuskegee, and Willie George Brown, 19, of Auburn. Later, it was announced that a sixth suspect, also from Tuskegee, was under arrest, but because he is only 15 years old, we don’t yet know his name.

As I said Wednesday, the biggest mystery is the motive. What would inspire six young men, ages 15 to 20, from out of town to grab their pistols and head to Dadeville to kill a bunch of people? Auburn is 25 miles from Dadeville, and Tuskegee is 35 miles away, so what was it that made Dadeville their target? Among those killed in the massacre was Phil Dowdell, a local football star who had a scholarship to my alma mater, Jacksonville State University. Dowdell’s sister was the birthday girl at the party, and it occurs to me that this deadly incident might have grown out of some kind of overheated high-school football rivalry.

But that would be completely crazy. You’re going to murder people because of football? The South is notorious for its quasi-religious devotion to football, but this would just be too much.

Oh, and I suppose I should mention that today I am once again watching CNN (so you don’t have to), and it seems the network lost interest in the Dadeville mass shooting just about the time cops released the mug shots of the suspects. Coincidence? I don’t think so.



 

 

Category: Alabama, Crime

Comments

One Response to “Dadeville Update: Six Suspects Now in Custody for ‘Sweet 16’ Massacre”

  1. Solomon Jones and his very bad timing – THE FIRST STREET JOURNAL.
    April 22nd, 2023 @ 6:49 pm

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