Alabama birthday party mass shooting: 4 slain victims identified

(DADEVILLE, Ala.) — Four people were killed and 28 others were injured in a shooting in a rural Alabama town late Saturday.

The shooting took place at a crowded birthday party in the small town of Dadeville, located approximately 60 miles northeast of Montgomery, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Here’s what we know about the victims so far:

Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, 18

Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School, was one of the four people who died, his coach Roger McDowell told ABC News.

He was a star high school football player — a standout wide receiver — and track team member, his coach said.

Dowdell had committed to attending Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship, McDowell said.

“He was a great young man with a bright future,” Rich Rodriguez, Jacksonville State’s head football coach, tweeted. “My staff and I are heartbroken and hope that everyone will support his family through this difficult time.”

“Phil was humble with a major smile,” McDowell told ABC News. “He had one goal to get to the NFL and take care of his mom.”

Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17

Like Dowdell, Shaunkivia Smith was a senior at Dadeville High School, where she played volleyball and softball, according to family. She was also a manager for the track and football teams, McDowell said.

Smith, who went by “Ke,” was a model student-athlete who was looking forward to attending the University of Alabama in the fall, her cousin, Amy Jackson, told ABC News.

“She just always told my son that she was gonna go to school — she wanted to go to college,” Jackson said.

Smith often took care of her younger brother and sister and “helped her mom every which way she could,” Jackson said.

“She had a smile that was contagious. I mean, she smiled, you’re going to smile back,” Jackson said.

Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23
Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19

ABC News’ Emily Shapiro and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.

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