A car rolling down Highway 49 opened fire toward Lake Martin Beach Club late Saturday night as four law enforcement agencies worked to break up a post-homecoming crowd that had swelled to more than double its expected size. No injuries were reported, but the gunfire has reignited anxiety in a county still healing from the 2023 Dadeville mass shooting.
Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett said multiple agencies were dispatched around midnight for crowd control at the venue, located along Alabama Highway 49 near Dadeville, according to AL.com. Deputies were joined by officers from the Dadeville, Jackson's Gap, and Camp Hill police departments as the crowd was being dispersed when multiple shots rang out. Abbett said no injuries have been reported from the incident.
The gathering had been planned for more than a month, with organizers expecting around 100 attendees between 9 p.m. and midnight, per the same report. Instead, the crowd grew to more than double that number, and an altercation broke out inside the restaurant near the end of the night. Investigators say an individual in a vehicle on Highway 49 then opened fire toward the property, though the shots did not strike inside the business itself.
Lake Martin Beach Club Caught in the Chaos
Lake Martin Beach Club is a lakeside venue near Blue Creek. Each fall, Alabama Power draws the lake down toward winter pool.
The business confirmed on social media that it had agreed to stay open past normal hours to accommodate the private group, as reported by the Alexander City Outlook. In the aftermath, the club permanently cancelled its weekly Wing Wednesday special and announced that all future private events and group bookings will face stricter review. Owners said they had invested substantial time, money and effort into creating something for the Lake Martin community, and that they will not let criminal actions by a few individuals threaten customers, employees, hotel guests, or the business's future.
Echoes of Dadeville's 2023 Tragedy
The response from local authorities and the venue's swift policy changes come against the backdrop of a tragedy that still weighs heavily on the county. Dadeville was the site of a mass shooting on April 15, 2023, during a Sweet 16 birthday party at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio downtown, which left four young people dead and 32 others injured, according to Bhamwiki. Five of the six men criminally charged in that case entered guilty pleas in a Tallapoosa County courtroom this past March.
That history helps explain the heightened pressure on both law enforcement and local businesses to manage large private gatherings carefully, even when, as in this case, no one was hurt. Sheriff Abbett's office covers a jurisdiction spanning more than 700 square miles and 1,000 miles of roadway serving roughly 42,000 residents. Dadeville, Jackson's Gap, and Camp Hill police joined deputies in responding to this incident.
Possible Charges and the Ongoing Search for Witnesses
Alabama law gives investigators several avenues once a suspect is identified. Under Section 13A-11-61 of the Alabama Code, shooting or discharging a firearm into any occupied or unoccupied building, dwelling, or vehicle is a criminal offense, according to FindLaw.
The investigation into who fired the shots from the vehicle on Highway 49 remains ongoing, and the Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information or video of the incident to call 256-827-2025 or 256-825-4264.
For now, the shooting near the Beach Club has left open questions about the vehicle involved and what security measures were in place that night, even as the venue moves to tighten its booking policies going forward.
