Alabama shooting: 3 teenagers and a 23-year-old among victims

A father has told the BBC he is "absolutely crushed" by the death of his 19-year-old son at a 16th birthday party in Alabama on Saturday night.

Marsiah Collins, two other teenagers and a 23-year-old were killed during the shooting in Dadeville.

His father, Martin Collins, said: "I don't know how to feel, except for any other way but heartbroken. My son was my heart and my life. And he was stolen from me. His life was stolen from him and he was stolen from us."

Thirty-two others were injured, authorities said, some critically. Police have not disclosed any details about suspects or a possible motive.

Here is what we know about the victims:

The oldest of three siblings, Philstavious Dowdell was killed while trying to save his sister Alexis when a gunman opened fire at her 16th birthday, his family said.

The 18-year-old pushed his sister to the ground as gunfire erupted during the celebration at a dance studio.

"The last thing I told him was to stay strong," Alexis told the BBC. The family said they still don't know who opened fire.

Kenan Cooper, the DJ at the party, described Phil Dowdell as "kind of like the hometown hero" in the close-knit town of roughly 3,000.

He was a star athlete on his high school's American football team and had been due to graduate to go to Jacksonville State University on a sports scholarship.

One of his friends who played with him on the school football team told the BBC: "Phil to me was an amazing friend. God's got an angel."

Jacksonville's head coach, Rich Rodriguez, said in a statement on Sunday that Mr Dowdell was "a great young man with a bright future".

Phil Dowdell's grandmother, Annette Allen, told the Montgomery Advertiser local newspaper: "He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face."

His sports coach at the local high school, Roger McDonald, described him as an outstanding young man.

"Everybody loved Phil. He always had a smile on his face. He always spoke to everyone. He was the ideal kid that you want to coach. He wasn't just a great athlete. He was a great kid," he told the paper.

Marsiah Collins was a varsity football player and a track star who had hopes of one day joining his father, Martin, in their shared dream of becoming lawyers.

In an interview with the BBC, his father Martin Collins said he is studying law at Louisiana State University and his son had been excited to join him as an undergraduate at the same campus this autumn.

The two had been arranging living together for the forthcoming school year, he said. But Marsiah's life was cut tragically short on Saturday.

"My son was my heart and my life. And he was stolen from me," his father said. "He was the light of every room he walked into."

The father described Marsiah as a "shy" teen who had possessed inner "strength and toughness".

"He would make you laugh like nobody's business, he would make you laugh uncontrollably sometimes, with his goofiness," he said.

Mr Collins said he and his family are still learning details about the shooting, but answers will not assuage their grief.

"I just want the world to know that none of those children deserve to die. My son definitely didn't. And he was just the perfect little baby."

Shaunkivia Smith also had a background in athletics and was reported by local media to have played volleyball and softball. However, a knee injury during her junior year cut her participation short.

She served as a manager of the basketball and track and field teams during her final year at high school.

She had planned on attending the University of Alabama, her cousin told CNN.

"She was full of love," Michael Taylor, the school's coach, told local news. "Just like Phil, she was very, very humble and she had this huge smile like Phil had. She would joke around all the time, and she got on to all of us - even me. She was just full of life."

Corbin Holston graduated from Dadeville High School in 2018, according to social media posts.

His mother, Janett Heard, told local news Mr Holston did not attend the party but went there to check on a family member who feared trouble was brewing.

"Out of concern for other family members, Corbin responded to the party to ensure their safety but unfortunately encountered the suspects,'' Ms Heard said.

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