Foreign

Alabama Shooting: Brother Died Saving Sister

By Web News 397

The birthday girl at an Alabama party where four people were shot dead was saved by her brother who later died in her arms.

Alexis Dowdell was celebrating her 16th birthday at a dance studio in rural Dadeville when her 18-year-old brother Phil Dowdell came to get her after hearing that someone at the party had a gun.

Her mother, LaTonya Allen, had also heard the rumours. She said that she turned on the lights, went to the DJ booth, and asked whoever had a firearm to leave the party.

But when no one spoke up, she turned the lights back off.

The gunfire erupted shortly after. “All of a sudden you hear gunshots and you just see everybody running towards the door and people falling and screaming,” Alexis told the BBC.

Her brother Phil pushed her to the ground, she said, before the two became separated in the chaos.

She was able to escape the venue and took cover outside before someone came to help her up. Alexis said she hid behind another building in case the attacker was still on the loose.

When she eventually went back inside, she discovered that her brother had been shot.

He had lost a lot of blood. She stayed with him as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He was unable to talk, though he opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows as she cradled him in her arms.

“The last thing I told him was to stay strong,” she said.

She added that her birthday would never be the same.

Thirty-two others were injured in Saturday night’s attack at the party in Dadeville, a small, close-knit town of roughly 3,000.

Meanwhile, Police is yet to name a suspect or a motive and have urged the public to come forward with information

The US has seen more than 160 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines such events as ones in which four or more people are shot.

BBC/ Oluwayemisi Owonikoko

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Foreign

10 Dead in Walmart Shooting

By Web News 523

At least, 10 people have been killed by a gunman in a Walmart supermarket in Chesapeake, in the US state of Virginia.

A man believed to be the store manager opened fire then turned the gun on himself, and is now dead.

The City of Chesapeake tweeted “police confirm an active shooter incident with fatalities at the Walmart”.

There are few details, but a police officer spoke of no more than 10 people killed and multiple injured. No motive has emerged

Police said that, the attack happened at 22:12 local time, as Leo Kosinski from Chesapeake Police Department confirms multiple fatalities.

The City of Chesapeake tweeted “police confirm an active shooter incident with fatalities at the Walmart”.

Spokesperson Leo Kosinski said the shooting was believed to have happened inside the store, and that the suspect acted alone.

Walmart said it was “shocked at this tragic event” and that it was “working closely with law enforcement”.

A further update from police in Chesapeake is expected later on Wednesday morning.

Pictures on social media showed a heavy police presence at the scene, and footage appeared online which appeared to show an eyewitness – wearing Walmart uniform – describing what happened.

He said he had left a staff room, which a manager then entered and opened fire.

“Sadly we lost a few of our associates,” the man said, clarifying that he did not know how many of his colleagues were shot.

A spokesperson for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital was quoted by local television station WAVY-TV saying that five people were being treated there.

One woman told WAVY-TV that her brother, a 20-year-old employee of the shop, was shot just 10 minutes after signing on for work.

But she said her sibling was able to talk to relatives and send texts – saying this was “comforting”.

Another woman named Joetta Jeffery told CNN that her mother had been inside the building when the attack took place, and had managed to send text messages.

Ms Jeffrey said her mother was not hurt but was in shock.

Mark Warner, a Democratic senator for the state of Virginia, tweeted that he was “sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting”.

Virginia state Senator L. Louise Lucas, also a Democrat, added that she was “absolutely heartbroken”.

She wrote on Twitter: “I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country.”

Tuesday evening’s attack comes just days after a gunman opened fire at a LGBT nightclub in the US state of Colorado, killing five people and injuring 17 others.

Meanwhile, In 2019, a mass shooting at a Walmart in the city of El Paso in Texas left 23 dead.

Culled/Taiwo Akinola