This is an opinion piece.

It’s been a tough week.

The deadly shooting in Dadeville last Saturday night led to four young lives being lost (to this point) and 32 others being injured.

Everything else in the high school sports world – and really the state of Alabama in general – pales in comparison to what happened at a Sweet 16 birthday party in the heart of a small town.

Six arrests have been made up to this point – two 20-year-olds and four teenagers ranging in age from 15 to 19. At least five have been charged with four counts of reckless murder. The charge for the sixth suspect, arrested late Thursday, weren’t announced yet.

How many lives have been changed forever?

The incident involved multiple stellar high school athletes, which is where I came in on the reporting.

Here are two of them:

Philstavious Dowdell, a senior at Dadeville High School, was one of the four killed. It was his sister’s party. He was a three-sport athlete who was headed to Jacksonville State next year to play football. He had an electric smile to go with his electrifying athletic ability. Dadeville football coach Roger McDonald said fellow students gravitated to him. Now, they mourn him.

Ty Reik McCullough, a 17-year-old junior at Booker T. Washington, is one of six arrested in the incident. The multi-purpose football player scored 19 TDs for Booker T. last fall. His coach, Lawrence A. O’Neal, posted on social media that, while he didn’t condone any actions and he hurt for all involved – some of which were his students and family members, McCullough was still one of his guys and he loved him. Authorities have said McCullough and the others would all be charged as adults.

When I entered the journalism business, these are not the stories I wanted to be writing. I’m sure my colleagues at AL.com feel the same, though they’ve done a terrific job staying on top of the story.

I began this career some 30 years ago. A different time clearly.

Mass shootings have become so commonplace we almost aren’t surprised anymore when or where they occur.

Do you remember where you were on 9/11?

How about when the Challenger exploded?

Or when Elvis died?

Katrina? Ivan? Sally?

If you are old enough, you probably remember exactly where you were or what you were doing on those dates.

Will you remember where you were the night of Dadeville shooting if you weren’t directly involved? Or the shooting before that? Or the next one? Because, unfortunately, there probably will be a next one, and it may be soon. I certainly pray that is not the case.

Our society is headed down a dark road. Even in the high school sports world – my world! – we see it occasionally. This is one of those times.

Let me assure you, though, there will always be hope.

Evil will come to an end.

Light will conquer darkness.

It’s just a fact.

I know many are placing their hope on stricter gun laws.

I would be OK with that. I don’t own a gun.

But that is not where my hope lies or Who it lies with.

In reality, there is only One true answer. I sure hope we all find Him soon.

…

Normally, in my weekly column, I close with some high school notes or achievements from around the state or maybe some recruiting tidbits. Somehow, it doesn’t feel right to do that. We will save those for next week.

Thought for the week

“I’ve been wandering through the desert

Ain’t seen a cloud in forever over me

But I believe Your rain is coming,

I’ve been hanging onto high hopes

‘Cause You’re the one who’s making dry bones come to life

You’re the light I put my trust in

Every word You say is gonna come true

You will lead me to the promised land

Everything You say is gonna happen

Even though I haven’t seen it yet.” – Build a Boat, Colton Dixon

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.