On Saturday, at least four individuals were killed in a mass shooting in the U.S. state of Alabama.
Local media report that several people were injured following an incident at a 16th birthday party in Dadeville.
Saturday night, around 22:30 (03:30 GMT), a gunshot occurred at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio.
“This morning, I grieve with the people of Dadeville and my fellow Alabamians,” said the governor of Alabama, Kay Ivey.
“Violent crime has no place in our state, and we are closely monitoring law enforcement’s updates as new information emerges,” the governor added in a tweet.
The governor is a staunch supporter of second amendment rights – the right to keep and bear arms – and last year he signed a bill that eliminated the permit requirement for carrying a concealed handgun in public in Alabama.
The National Rifle Association supported her candidature for governorship last year.
Pastor Ben Hayes, the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and the local high school football team, stated that the majority of the victims were adolescents.
“One of the young men who was killed was a star athlete and an all-around good guy,” he said.
“Many of these pupils were familiar to me. Dadeville is a small hamlet, so this will affect everyone in the surrounding area.
A community vigil is being planned for Saturday’s gunshot victims.
There has been no confirmation regarding the cause of the incident or whether any suspects have been apprehended.
The Alabama incident follows a shooting that occurred on the same day in a park in Louisville, Kentucky, in which two people were slain and four others were injured.
Dadeville is a small rural community in Tallapoosa County in eastern Alabama, with a population of approximately 3,200 people.
This year, there have been over 140 mass shootings in the United States.
