DJ Says Partygoers Were Told Someone Had a Gun

Attendees at a 16th birthday party in Alabama were told someone at the event had a gun about an hour before a shooter opened fire, the party’s DJ said. Four people were killed and 28 others were injured during the attack at the dance studio in Dadeville on Saturday night. The DJ, Keenan Cooper, estimated that about 40 or 50 people were at the party. “It wasn’t anything you could pretty much see because the lights were off,” Cooper told WBMA. “They mentioned someone had a gun. They stopped the party for a second, asked them to leave, nobody left and the party continued.” An hour after the rumor went around, the shooting started. “I only tried to help who was in front of me, so I had a lot of people under the table and beside me trying to protect them,” Cooper said. “I’m just distraught for the kids.” Among those killed was star high school football player Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, the brother of the girl who was celebrating her 16th birthday at the party. The girl, Alexis, was also injured, along with the siblings’ mother, the pair’s grandmother told NPR.

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