Alabama cheerleader dies: Update on 18 Y/O Kimber Mills' death investigation, prime suspect in custody

The Alabama Crimsonettes and the Crimson Tide flag
The Alabama Crimsonettes and the Crimson Tide flag

On Wednesday evening, eighteen-year-old cheerleader Kimber Mills succumbed to wounds sustained while trying to stop a fight in Jefferson County, Alabama. Kimber Mills was a senior cheerleader at Cleveland High School and was on track to join the University of Alabama in 2026, where she planned to pursue a nursing degree.

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The victim's sister, Ashley Mills, revealed the news on Facebook, accompanied by a heartfelt message.

“Our sweet baby sister went to be with the Lord at 7:08 last night,” Kimber’s sister, Ashley Mills wrote. “She had the biggest gathering for Honor Walk the doc has ever seen. She was and is so loved by so many. We will miss you, Kimber.”
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According to "AL.com," Kimber Mills and her friends attended a party at a location known as "The Pit," where the shooter, Steven Tyler Whitehead, showed up and unsuccessfully tried to speak to the victim's friends. The interaction started an argument that snowballed into a fight, during which Mills and four others were shot.

After the incident, the critically injured Mills was taken to UAB Hospital by Trussville firefighters, but ultimately, she donated her organs to a seven-year-old child, according to her sister. Well-wishers lined the UAB Hospital halls as she was wheeled through the Honor Walk reserved for patients donating organs to save other lives.

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Whitehead, meanwhile, was charged with four counts of attempted murder and is being held on a $180,000 bond.

Stranger tried to save Kimber Mills during shooting

A man who tried to save Kimber Mills during the shooting was identified by WBRC as Silas McKay and he was shot ten times in the process. During an interview with "WBRC," McKay, who got into a fight with the shooter, gave his version of events that led to the untimely death of the Cleveland High School cheerleader.

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“My ex-girlfriend came up to me at the party and said he was trying to do stuff to this girl named Kimber … I grabbed him and put him over my shoulder and had him on the ground. My buddy pulled me off him, and that’s when he pulled his gun out and started shooting,” Silas McKay said.

Kimber Mills' sister, Ashley Mills, revealed on Facebook that no surgery would have saved her sister, who had been shot on the head and the leg and that the family had a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order on the senior cheerleader.

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Edited by Cabral Opiyo
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