DALLAS COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) – What began as a birthday celebration in Dallas County ended with one man shot in the chest, another man jailed on an attempted murder charge and deputies working through a brief standoff.
Dallas County Sheriff Mike Granthum said deputies were called to Vaughan Regional Medical Center on July 18 after a man arrived with a gunshot wound.
Investigators learned the shooting happened during an outdoor birthday party on Shepherd Drive in the Craig Field area.
Granthum identified the injured man as Tommy Jeter. He said Jeter was teaching a woman how to perform a particular line dance when the woman’s husband, Kevin Coleman, came outside and confronted him.
“The husband came out and didn’t like the way he was teaching her how to dance, so to speak,” Granthum said.
According to investigators, Coleman and Jeter exchanged words in front of several other people attending the party. Granthum said Coleman then went back inside the residence and retrieved a handgun.
Another argument followed when Coleman returned outside, the sheriff said.
“He starts firing a round, and the round struck Mr. Jeter in the chest one time,” Granthum said.
Only one shot was fired, according to the sheriff.
Granthum said witnesses interviewed so far have not reported seeing anything inappropriate between Jeter and the woman before the confrontation. He said investigators’ early evidence indicates the disagreement centered on how Jeter was teaching her the dance.
“All the evidence leads us to believe it was a verbal altercation over a dance, over a simple dance, that he didn’t like the way it was being done,” Granthum said.
After the shooting, Granthum said Coleman went inside the residence and initially refused deputies’ commands to come out.
The sheriff described the encounter as a brief standoff. Deputies approached the situation cautiously because investigators believed Coleman was still armed.
“We knew there was a gun involved. We knew he was still armed,” Granthum said.
Coleman was eventually taken into custody, and deputies recovered the handgun believed to have been used in the shooting.
He was charged with attempted murder and remained jailed as of Friday. Granthum said Coleman was initially held without bond pending a court hearing. A hearing date had not been announced.
The sheriff said investigators are continuing to collect statements from the people who attended the party.
Coleman’s wife was distraught after the shooting, according to Granthum, and investigators were still working to obtain a complete statement from her.
Despite being shot in the chest, Jeter remained conscious and was able to speak with investigators at Vaughan Regional Medical Center.
Granthum said Jeter gave deputies a statement before being airlifted to another hospital for additional treatment.
“He was still coherent, still talking, but not doing the best,” Granthum said.
The sheriff said investigators checked on Jeter’s condition Friday morning. His condition was improving, but he remained in a critical stage of recovery.
“Just luckily, by the grace of God, we’re not working a murder right now,” Granthum said.
The sheriff said Coleman could face additional or upgraded charges as investigators gather more evidence and monitor Jeter’s condition.
“We don’t know the exact circumstances yet,” Granthum said. “We’re still doing some investigation on it due to the severity of the crime.”
Investigators have also not determined whether alcohol contributed to the confrontation. Granthum said adult beverages may have been available at the party, but investigators were still waiting for blood-test results.
Granthum said the shooting reflects a larger problem he has observed during his decades in law enforcement: people increasingly reaching for guns instead of resolving disagreements through conversation.
“We’re talking grown men in their 50s,” Granthum said. “Instead of sitting down at the table and talking about it, people want to take out a gun. That’s the way they’re solving their problems.”
The sheriff said disputes that may have once ended in a fistfight are now more likely to involve firearms, creating a greater risk not only for the people arguing but also for anyone standing nearby.
Several guests were outside when the shooting happened.
“If a bullet didn’t have a name when he pulled that trigger, it could have been an innocent bystander that was shot,” Granthum said.
Granthum said firing a gun during a crowded celebration could have caused multiple injuries or deaths.
“Guns are for real. Bullets are for real,” he said. “Once that trigger is pulled, that bullet can’t come back.
Although the birthday party shooting was serious, Granthum said the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office has not seen a broad increase in violent crime within its jurisdiction.
The sheriff’s jurisdiction does not include crimes investigated by the Selma Police Department or other municipal law enforcement agencies.
Granthum said the sheriff’s office had investigated a handful of shootings during the first seven months of 2026 but had not recorded a homicide within its jurisdiction.
“We have had shootings,” Granthum said. “It’s only by the grace of God that a shooting wasn’t a murder. It may hit them in the leg or in the arm instead of the head or the heart.”
The sheriff said property crimes, including burglaries, thefts and metal thefts, have increased. However, he said shootings and other violent offenses have remained relatively limited in the county’s unincorporated areas.
Granthum said the birthday party shooting remains under investigation. Additional evidence, witness statements and medical information could affect the charges filed in the case.
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