A local sports hero is among the victims

A gunman killed four people in a shooting in Alabama late Saturday night and wounded 28 others. The crime occurred at a sixteenth birthday party in the small town of Dadville. As CNN reported, a locally known soccer player was among the dead.

One of the teens killed is Philstavious Dowdell – a high school football player and the birthday boy’s brother.

High school football chaplain Keenan Cooper told CNN that Dowdle was about to graduate next month. After graduating from high school, Dowdle should have been an aspiring college football player – he got an offer from Jacksonville State University.

High school sports, especially American football, are a huge part of small town America. In contrast, the sympathy and grief of the community is high. Reverend Dowdle said he was “a hometown hero”.

Jacksonville State University tweeted about the Dadeville shooting: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Filstavius ​​Doodle family and the other victims of last night’s senseless tragedy,” said head football coach Rich Rodriguez.

A total of 162 shootings have occurred in the United States since the beginning of the calendar year, averaging over 1.5 shootings per day.