An Alabama man accused of murdering a high school cheerleader has been released from jail on a $330,000 bond with strict electronic monitoring requirements.
Steven Tyler Whitehead, 27, was charged with murder after opening fire at a bonfire party and killing 18-year-old Kimber Mills. Whitehead also faces three counts of attempted murder for wounding others during the incident.
According to law enforcement reports, the shooting occurred in late October near Pinson, Alabama, at a gathering of approximately 40–50 young people just after midnight. Whitehead reportedly became involved in a verbal and physical confrontation before pulling out a gun and opening fire.
Mills was shot in the head and leg and died from her injuries at a hospital. One of the men who tried to protect Mills, Silas McCay, 21, was also shot multiple times. McCay described how he and another man confronted Whitehead after learning he had been attempting to harm Mills. During the altercation, Whitehead pulled out a gun and fired shots, resulting in injuries to both McCay and Mills.
“I look at her like a little sister to me,” McCay said from his hospital bed. “I tried everything I could. I wish there was more I could’ve done.”
McCay and Hunter McCullouch, 19, are charged with third-degree assault in connection with the incident. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Whitehead fired multiple rounds during the chaos, striking Mills and three others.
