A man accused of fatally shooting an 18-year-old cheerleader during a late-night bonfire gathering in Alabama has been officially charged with her murder.

The Jefferson County grand jury has indicted 28-year-old Steven Tyler Whitehead for the murder of Kimber Mills, as well as the attempted murder of three others who survived the attack on October 18.

This week, the indictments for all four victims were confirmed by Jefferson County Deputy District Attorney Meaghan Willis, though the official documents have yet to be made public.

Whitehead, who serves in the National Guard, is currently held at the Jefferson County Jail with bonds amounting to $330,000.

While a judge approved his bond in the Mills murder case last month, Whitehead remains incarcerated due to the additional charges of attempted murder.

In a related twist, two of the injured, Hunter McCulloch and Silas McCay, both aged 20, are facing charges of their own. They have been accused of third-degree misdemeanor assault for allegedly attacking Whitehead just before the shooting incident occurred.

Both men are out on bond and scheduled to appear in court.

The deadly violence unfolded shortly before 1am on Sunday, October 18, at a remote clearing known locally as ‘The Pit’ – a patch of private property in the Jefferson County woods near Highway 75 where teens and young adults sometimes gather for bonfires, music and drinking.

Kimber Mills, 18, of Cleveland, was one of four people hit by bullets. She died only a few days later on October 21

Steven Tyler Whitehead, 27, is charged with Kimber’s murder and the attempted murder of three others

Kimber Mills’ family said doctors at the time had told them her injuries were so severe she would not survive after suffering gunshot wounds to her head and leg

Investigators say roughly 40 to 50 people, mostly between the ages of 18 and 22, were at the party, which began around 8pm on the Saturday night. But just after midnight, chaos broke out. 

Court testimony revealed that surveillance footage shows Whitehead placing his hand on a young woman’s hip. When the girl pushed him away, a fight exploded.

According to a detective who testified under oath, the video shows Whitehead being punched repeatedly and shoved to the ground as several young men piled on top of him.

Moments later, the detective testified, Whitehead pulled out a gun and fired 13 shots.

Kimber Mills was struck in the head and leg. The 18-year-old cheerleader from Cleveland, Alabama was known by friends and family as full of energy.

Silas McCay was shot repeatedly. Levi Sanders, 18, and Raelen Norris, 20, were also rushed to the hospital in a private vehicle. A juvenile was grazed by gunfire.

Dispatch recordings obtained by ABC3340 captured the frantic moments after the shooting, including reports of ‘a young woman who had been shot in the head.’

Kimber’s family says she had never met Whitehead before that night.

Her sister, Ashley Mills, told WBRC that the violence began when Whitehead allegedly targeted another young woman at the party.

Kimber was a well-liked cheerleader at Cleveland High School who aspired to become a nurse

A huge vigil was held for Kimber on the field of her high school last month 

‘He was trying to hit on a girl there and give her things that she didn’t want,’ Ashley said, in what she described as an apparent attempt to spike a drink. 

‘We hope he gets what he deserves.’

Defense attorneys for Whitehead have argued in hearings their client was under attack when he opened fire after being pinned to the ground and surrounded by multiple people as punches rained down.

Video shown in court confirms that Whitehead was struck and held down moments before the gunfire erupted.

Doctors later told Kimber’s family that her injuries were too catastrophic for her to survive.

After three days on life support, Kimber’s family made the devastating decision to donate her organs.

Dozens of people lined the corridors of UAB Hospital for her honor walk, silently watching as her bed was wheeled through the hospital.

Witnesses described staff and strangers standing shoulder to shoulder, many in tears, as soft toys surrounded Kimber’s hospital bed.

Silas McCay, who had been shot ten times, forced himself out of his own hospital bed to follow the honor walk. 

‘It was emotional,’ his brother Shane McCay told CBS News. ‘As soon as she turned that corner, the whole hallway was crying. You can tell she was really loved by the whole community.’

The Daily Mail spoke with her sister Ashley Mills who said her heart was donated to a seven-year-old boy in Ohio and her lungs went to a woman in New York

Dozens of people lined the corridors of UAB Hospital for her honor walk, silently watching as her bed was wheeled through the hospital before her organs were transplanted

Sister Ashley later revealed where Kimber’s organs went with Kimber’s heart being donated to a seven-year-old boy in Ohio, while her lungs went to a woman in New York.

At a candlelight vigil held at Kimber’s high school days earlier, her sister delivered an emotional speech.

‘We shouldn’t be burying our little sister,’ Ashley said. ‘It should be the other way around. It’s supposed to go from oldest to youngest not youngest first.’

She told mourners that Kimber had dreams of becoming a nurse. 

‘She wanted to do things that I wanted to that I wasn’t able to, like be a nurse, help people and that’s exactly what she was trying to do that night… just help.’

A GoFundMe page initially created to help Kimber’s family with medical expenses has now been repurposed to assist all of the shooting victims.