With the then top-ranked Alabama squaring off against an unranked Texas A&M squad in the final minutes over the weekend, police said that two men got in an argument inside a Sixth Avenue home in Bessemer, Alabama.
It is alleged that the two men became combative while arguing over whose team was better, prompting the homeowner to ask them to leave as they were fighting at approximately 11 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9.
Once they were outside, police said that shots were fired and 27-year-old Kealend Amad Pickens was struck in the torso by several bullets with the game still in the final minutes of the now 21st ranked Aggies' 41-38 upset of the Crimson Tide.
Alabama had been on a 19 game winning streak before being upset by Texas A&M on a last-play field goal.
Police said that Pickens was transported to an area hospital and pronounced dead shortly before 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 10.
A police spokesperson said that the department knows the shooter’s identity, though he fled on foot after the shooting. He has yet to be taken into custody.
“It’s another case,’’ Bessemer Police Lt. Christian Clemons reportedly said, “of resorting to violence to handle differences.”
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