Marty Roney

DADEVILLE — Several hundred people came together Sunday afternoon in the parking lot of First Baptist Church in Dadeville to pray and offer support to one another. To try to find solace in the tragedy. One of them was still wearing a hospital gown.

At about 10:30 p.m. the night before, shots were fired at a 16-year-old girl’s birthday party held at an old bank downtown that had been converted to a dance studio. Four people lost their lives, the state law enforcement agency said. Twenty-eight were injured, some critically.

Taniya Cox attended the vigil in a hospital gown with her right arm in a cast. She said she was at the party Saturday night and was shot twice in her right arm.

“The mother said whoever had guns had to get out and they didn’t get out and five minutes later the shooting started,” she said. “I ran in front of a bullet and got shot. I didn’t know what was going on I just saw blood coming out of my arm.”

She said she knew the girl who was having the party, but that young people from outside Dadeville were also at the party. She said she knew the victims who died.

“They meant a lot to me,” she said. “I saw a group of girls dancing and that’s when the gunshots went off.”

More:At least four dead in mass shooting at teen’s birthday party in Dadeville

Taniya said she went to the back of the room and there were “other shooters.”

“They told me to get out of the way, or I would get shot,” she said.

Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies continued to work the case late Sunday afternoon, just a few blocks from the vigil. There had been no public comment from law enforcement about any potential suspects, but authorities said early Sunday that no public safety threat exists. Authorities had not confirmed what type of gun or guns were used, or any possible motive in the shooting.

There was emotion at the vigil, as people hugged and held on to one another. Teenagers gathered in knots, crying and wiping away tears. Many held their hands in the air in supplication. The service lasted about half an hour.

“I just had to be here,” Cleve Harris said. “I don’t know why, maybe trying to get help figuring out ‘Why?’

“I still don’t know why.”

Prayers were offered for unity, and peace. First responders were singled out, then educators, ministers and elected officials. People went to them and laid hands on them while praying for the strength needed in the coming days.

Dadeville is the county seat of Tallapoosa County, in the east central part of the state. The city has a population of about 3,000 in a county of about 42,000.

There was a sense Sunday afternoon that Dadeville’s innocence was also a casualty of Saturday night’s carnage. One pastor call the shooting “… a 9-11 moment. We will always remember.”

“I’ve been asked what I want people to know about Dadeville,” said Pastor Fred Hutcherson, of Zion Hill Baptist Church. “I said we are a village that comes together to take care of our children. When I hurt, you hurt. That this is true love at its best level.”

Jake Crandall contributed to this report. Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.