A man was fatally shot after an argument over the University of Alabama-Texas A&M University football game, Alabama police said Monday.
The man, Kealand Amad Pickens, 27, was shot at about 10:45 p.m. Saturday outside a home where people were gathered to watch the game, Bessemer Police Lt. Christian Clemons said.
"They were arguing over which team was better. It was an argument about the game," Clemons said Monday afternoon.
Pickens died Sunday shortly before 3:30 a.m., Clemons said.
Pickens and another person were watching the game at the home in Bessemer, a suburb of Birmingham, before the homeowner kicked them out for arguing, Clemons said.
NBC affiliate WVTM in Birmingham reported that officers found a man who had been shot several times in the torso. The victim was taken to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, the station reported.
Clemons said Monday afternoon that police have identified a suspect and hoped to make an arrest soon. He declined to name the suspect.
Violence over college football — even in Alabama, a state known for its intense football fandom — is rare, Clemons said.
"Unfortunately, we've seen it before," he said. "But it doesn't happen as often as people may think, given how important football is taken down here.
"People are just resorting to violence and including weapons in arguments when weapons and violence don't need to be involved," he said. "It's OK to have a difference of opinion and keep your difference of opinion. Nobody has to die over something like that."
Texas A&M defeated Alabama, the 2020 national champions, 41-38. The Aggies kicked a last-second field goal to win. Alabama had been ranked the top team in the country. Texas A&M was unranked.
Alabama's loss ended its 19-game winning streak. The Aggies also broke Alabama's streak of 100 consecutive wins against unranked opponents, the longest streak in the Associated Press poll era, ESPN reported.
