The Alabama teenager whose birthday party became the site of a deadly mass shooting says her brother tried to protect her before he was killed.
Alexis Dowdell recalls her older brother, Philstavious “Phil” Dowdell, attempting to push her out of the downtown Dadeville dance hall Saturday night before she slipped in blood. She says she made it outside but her brother did not.
She and her mother returned to the Mahogany Masterpiece studio, where Alexis says she pleaded with her brother to “stay with me.”
“I got on my knees and he was laying face down. And that’s when I grabbed him. I turned him over, I was holding him,” Alexis, who was celebrating her 16th birthday, told the Associated Press.
“I wasn’t crying at the moment because I was trying to be strong instead of panicking. And so I said, ‘You’re going to be all right. You’re a fighter, you’re strong.’”
Phil Dowdell, 18, was one of four people killed, along with Shaunkivia Nicole “KeKe” Smith, 17; Marsiah Emmanuel “Siah” Collins, 19; and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, officials said. At least 32 others were hurt in the rampage.
Authorities haven’t released information about any suspects or a possible motive for the massacre.
Phil was a wide receiver at Dadeville High School who was set to graduate in a few weeks. He had committed to playing college football at Jackson State University.
“He was a strong competitor on the field,” said Pastor Ben Hayes, chaplain for the Dadeville football team. “You didn’t want to try to tackle him or get tackled by him. But when he came off the field, he was one of the nicest young men that you could ever meet, very respectful and well-respected by his peers.”