Four people have been killed and multiple people injured during a shooting in the United States city of Dadeville, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency says.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the shooting happened about 10.30pm on Saturday (11.30am Sunday AEST).
There was no initial confirmation about what led to the shooting. It was not immediately known if a suspect was in custody.
Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school football team, said most of the victims were teenagers because the shooting occurred at a birthday party for a 16-year-old.
He said the shooting rocked the small town where serious crime is rare.
“One of the young men that was killed was one of our star athletes and just a great guy,” Hayes said.
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“So I knew many of these students. Dadeville is a small town and this is going to affect everybody in this area.”
WRBL-TV reported that the shooting happened at a dance studio. The station showed images of crime scene tape around the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio and neighbouring buildings and a heavy police presence.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said in a statement posted on social media.
“Violent crime has NO place in our state, and we are staying closely updated by law enforcement as details emerge,”
Dadeville, which has a population of about 3200 people, is in east Alabama, about 92 kilometers north-east of Montgomery, Alabama.
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