Father of teen killed in Alabama mass shooting: ‘America is tearing itself down’

After a Sweet 16 shooting killed four Black youth, Martin Collins searches for answers and fights to keep his son's name alive

On the night of 15 April, gunfire broke out at the dance studio in Dadeville, Alabama, where Alexis Dowdell was celebrating her 16th birthday.

The shooting turned a joyful gathering of teenagers into a chaotic and bloody nightmare, cutting short the lives of four young people in the small rural town north of Montgomery: Marsiah Collins, a 19-year-old high school graduate and musician; Shaunkivia Nicole KeKe" Smith, a 17-year-old senior who managed the basketball and track and field teams; Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, who graduated from Dadeville high school in 2018; and Alexis's brother, Philstavious Phil" Dowdell, an 18-year-old star football player.