At least 89 rounds fired in Dadeville Sweet 16 shooting, law enforcement agent reveals

(ALABAMA) — Nearly 90 shell casings were found on the floor of the Dadeville, Alabama, dance studio where four people were killed and 32 others were injured this month, according to court testimony on Tuesday.

In a bond hearing for the six defendants, Jess Thornton, a special agent with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, revealed new details about the April 15 shooting, which terrorized attendees of a Sweet 16 party and rattled the small Alabama community.

A Tallapoosa County official, who was in the courtroom, confirmed to ABC News the contents of Thornton’s testimony, which was recounted in local reports.

Thornton said that roughly 50 to 60 people were inside the dance hall at the time of the shooting.

At one point, he added, a DJ’s speaker fell over, making a sound similar to a gunshot and prompting several of the partygoers to lift their shirts to show they had guns.

An adult told the crowd that anyone over 18 or carrying a gun needed to leave. Soon after, shots rang out.

Thornton described how at least two of the defendants were linked to the massacre.

He said that one of the defendants, Willie Brown, denied being at the party, but shell casings from an unrelated incident, in which Brown was a suspect, matched a casing found in the dance hall.

Another suspect, whom Thornton did not name, was wearing an ankle monitor from an unrelated shooting, whose GPS tracker showed he was in Dadeville.

Meanwhile, a gun that was determined to have been fired was found on the chest of Corbin Holston, one of the victims, said Thornton.

A circuit court judge has 48 hours to determine whether the defendants will be held on bond.

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