US Mass Shooting: Jacksonville football star Phil Dowdell among 4 killed in teen's b'day party

Upcoming high school athlete Phil Dowdell was among the four people killed in Sunday's mass shooting in Alabama, USA. The shooter remains at large and even the cops have not released any information about him or a possible motive.

As per officials, a Sweet 16 party turned into a scene of carnage when four people were killed and at least 15 teenagers were shot and wounded.

The incident happened in downtown Dadeville at around 10:34 pm on Saturday, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said on Sunday.

Philstavious "Phil" Dowdell, the first victim to be named, was attending his sister Alexis' 16th birthday at a dance studio in the centre of the town when he was shot dead at the party.

Dowdell was a senior in high school due to graduate in mere weeks on an American football scholarship.

"He was a very, very humble child. Never messed with anybody. Always had a smile on his face," Dowdell's grandmother Annette Allen was quoted as saying by Fox News.

Dowdell's mother was shot twice but she survived, along with 15 others. "Everybody's grieving," Allen added.

His sports coach at the local high school, Roger McDonald, described him as an outstanding young man.

"Everybody loved Phil. He always had a smile on his face. He always spoke to everyone. He was the ideal kid that you want to coach.

"He wasn't just a great athlete. He was a great kid," he told the Montgomery Advertiser local newspaper.