The aftermath of the annual Magic City Classic college football game in Birmingham, Alabama turned tragic Saturday night.
One person was killed and eight others wounded in a shooting near Birmingham’s Legion Field following the rivalry clash between Alabama A&M University and Alabama State University, which is billed as the largest historically Black college and university (HBCU) football game in America.
‘Grateful’ that situation wasn’t worse
According to reports, shots rang out just before 8 p.m. local time Saturday. De’Rell Freeman, assistant public information officer with the Birmingham Police Department, said officers responded to the scene and found multiple victims.
Freeman added that “multiple firearms” were recovered from the scene, and one person was detained for questioning. In addition to the one person who lost their life, another shooting victim is in critical condition, with seven others reportedly listed as stable.
In a news conference, Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett added that he was “very grateful that more people weren’t injured.”
Alabama A&M won the game, holding off Alabama State 31-28. Nearly 70,000 fans attended the matchup, which has been played for more than 100 years.
A deadly weekend nationwide
According to a roundup from NBC News, at least 11 people were killed and more than 60 injured in shootings across seven states on Halloween.
In addition to Birmingham, there were deadly shootings in Dallas, Texas, Jackson, Mississippi and Bloomington, Illinois, while six people were injured in a shooting near the University of Delaware.
