Remembering the victims of the Dadeville mass shooting One Year Later

District Attorney Mike Segrest will be prosecuting the six defendants charged with the first trial expected to begin in the spring of 2025. “I can’t imagine a trial that has much more forensic evidence than this. The amount of medical records, thankfully we have digital files and don’t have to have paper files because there are thousands of pages of medical records, ” Segrest says. Through the pre-trial process, Segrest has forged friendships with many of the victims who have slowly been recovering over the past year. “Physically, some of the victims who suffered traumatic brain injuries, their recovery has been nothing short of amazing. I think emotionally for everyone there is scarring. This has been an emotional week for a lot of people. Lexie, it was her birthday party. That means she has a birthday this weekend,” Segrest says.

He says although the victims’ physical injuries are healing, there is still one heartbreaking question he may never be able to answer. “The one question everyone keeps asking me when I’ve met with the families after the last hearing – every time there’s a lot of them there and I appreciate them being there – but the question is ‘Why.’ And I have to tell them that I don’t know that we’ll ever know the reason why, and that’s not something I have to prove fortunately in a case is why something happened, because I think we’ll all be asking ourselves that for a long time.”

On Sunday afternoon, a ceremony was held to dedicate a Memorial Garden in Dadeville honoring the victims of the mass shooting. More than a hundred people came to Keebler Park to see a temporary monument that has been erected until the permanent monument is finished. The permanent monument will be made of black granite outlined in real gold which is significant because black and gold are the colors of Dadeville High School – the school many of the victims attended. Local leaders spoke, and a children’s theater group sang to the crowd.

Each element of the sidewalk in the park has meaning. The outer circle was divided into four parts representing the four lives lost, and another part of the sidewalk has been divided into 32 sections, honoring the 32 people who were injured. Amy Jackson is the cousin of Shaunkivia Smith, who was one of the four young people killed that night. “Coming back and being able to come and have peace and (this is) somewhere I can meditate and think about our loved ones who have transitioned on. This is a good thing for us and the community.” Janett Heard is the mother of Corbin Holston, who was also killed that night. “The support has been overwhelming. This is a small community. I grew up in his community. I raised my children here, and like the pastor said ‘Dadeville Strong.’ We are strong. We rally around our people, we rally around our community whenever a tragedy hurts. It doesn’t matter whether we know them personally or not but when one hurts we all hurt.” Monday at 6:30pm, First Baptist Church in Dadeville has organized a memorial service that will be held at the Dadeville High School football field.