Teen brothers among six charged in Alabama party killings

Two teenage brothers, a 15-year-old, and three men are now under arrest after a deadly shooting at a party in Alabama last Saturday, authorities said.

The shooting at a 16th birthday party celebration left four people dead and 32 others injured.

The first arrests were made on Tuesday. All six suspects have been charged with four counts of reckless murder.

Police have still not disclosed a potential motive for the shooting.

Neither have police released many details of what happened that night. About 50 people were at the sweet sixteen celebration in a dance studio in the small city of Dadeville. Among those killed were the birthday girl's brother.

Willie George Brown Jr, 19, Johnny Letron Brown, 20, and a 15-year-old who was not named due to his age were arrested on Thursday. Wilson LaMar Hill, 20, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon.

Brothers Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, were the first to be arrested, on Tuesday.

Officials said Johnny Letron Brown and the McCullough brothers are from Tuskegee, Alabama, which is about a 40-minute drive from the crime scene in Dadeville.

Willie George Brown Jr and LaMar Hill are from Auburn, a 30-minute drive from Dadeville.

Officials have said the teenage brothers will be tried as adults, an automatic requirement for anyone 16 or older charged with murder in the state.

All of the suspects are being held without bond, except the 15-year-old, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.

Johnny Letron Brown does not have a criminal record, his mother, Amanda Riley, told NBC, and he's supposed to attend Faulkner University in the fall to play American football.

"He didn't do any shooting. When the firearms started firing off, he got down on the floor," Ms Riley said. "My kids don't carry weapons, I'm going to tell you that right now. The FBI just searched my house. They couldn't find one weapon in my house. They didn't find one bullet in my house and in my shed out back."

At a press conference on Wednesday, officials told reporters the investigation was still in its early stages.

District Attorney Mike Segrest said: "I know that there has been some frustration among our community and among media about a lack of information that has been provided up to this point."

Officials have said they recovered shell casings used in handguns at the crime scene, noting that there was no evidence a high-powered rifle had been used.

Four of those injured remain in hospital in critical condition, police said on Wednesday.

"We are going to make sure every one of those victims has justice and not just the deceased," Sgt Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) said.

The agency added: "These individuals have been charged after a complex and thorough investigation was conducted with assistance from a multitude of law enforcement agencies."

The deceased have been identified as Marsiah Collins, 19; Phil Dowdell, 18; Corbin Holston, 23; and Shaunkivia Smith, 17. 

Mr Dowdell died trying to save his sister Alexis, his family has said. He was a star athlete on his high school's football team and had been due to graduate to go to Jacksonville State University on a sports scholarship.

One of his friends, a football teammate, told the BBC: "Phil to me was an amazing friend. God's got an angel."

Dadeville, a town of roughly 3,000 residents, is about 60 miles (100km) north east of the state capital of Montgomery.

Sgt Burkett urged those who were at the party to contact authorities if they have not already done so.

"We need you to come forward for these families, for these victims," he said. 

The weekend attack took the US to a grim milestone of more than 160 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines such events as ones in which four or more people are shot.