DADEVILLE, Ala. (WIAT) – Monday marked the first anniversary of the shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville that left four dead and 32 others injured.
Monday night, hundreds gathered for a memorial service on the Dadeville High School football field in their honor.
“One year later, it needs to be reported that we are still standing. One year later, it needs to be reported that we are still striving. One year later, it needs to be reported that we are still strong,” New Canaan Baptist Church Reverand Justin Freeman said.
Dadeville First Baptist Church Pastor Ben Hayes says it was a night for mourning the four killed in last year’s shooting but also a night to celebrate their lives and the way the community came together.
“We needed one another then because there was so many people crying and all of us needed a shoulder that we could cry on,” Freeman said. “In reality, we still need one another now.”
“That’s what this has been about is just building relationships, crossing over racial barriers and just reaching out to people and just showing them that we care,” Hayes said.
Aleshia Ponds has lived in Dadeville her whole life. She says as a grieving mother herself, it’s important to let the families of the victims know their child’s life doesn’t only matter on April 15.
“We always just want them to know that they’re loved, they’re cared for,” Ponds said. “Dadeville strong, Opelika strong, wherever they were from, they are remembered.”
Ponds says in the last year, she can tell the community has grown tighter.
“It’s not about a race, color, creed, what your religion or whatever, it’s just the fact that you are being remembered, remembering what Dadeville always should’ve been before April 15, 2023,” Ponds said.
Michael Jones is the father of Marsiah Collins, one of the four killed in the shooting. He says his last year has been filled with heartache and sleepless nights.
“We’ve got to put an end to this gun violence. I mean, that’s all I want just for the community and everybody to come together and try to talk to these kids, young kids, and steer them in the right direction,” Jones said. “Hopefully, they will listen and put these guns down.”
As for what Jones wants to say to the people that killed his son?
“Words can’t describe what I could say to them. I mean, not right now.”
The six people arrested and charged in this shooting are awaiting trial.
A memorial garden for the victims and survivors of this shooting was unveiled over the weekend at Keebler Park. The community is waiting for the permanent monument to be installed.
The monument will be black granite outlined with gold which are the colors for Dadeville High School. The sidewalk surrounding the monument also holds significance. The circle around the monument is divided into four parts, one for each life lost in the shooting. The sidewalk leading up to the memorial is divided into 32 sections to represent the 32 people injured.
