TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and another man have been charged with capital murder after a fatal shooting near campus.
Tuscaloosa Police Capt. Jack Kennedy said the shooting happened early Sunday on the University Blvd. Strip near campus. He said Jamea Harris, 23, of the Birmingham area, was shot and killed.
Miles, 21, a reserve junior forward from Washington, D.C., and Michael Lynn Davis, 20, of Charles County, Maryland, were charged with capital murder. The capital murder charge arose because the death involved shooting at a vehicle, Kennedy said.
“At this time, it appears that the only reason was a minor altercation these individuals had with the victim while they were on the Strip,” Kennedy said at a news conference Sunday night. They had no prior relationship, he said.
He said the driver of another vehicle, in which Harris was a passenger, approached campus police near Bryant-Denny Stadium around 1:45 a.m. saying someone had shot at the vehicle and he responded. One of the suspects was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, and Kennedy declined to say who fired the gun or who was injured.
An emotional Miles spoke to someone as he was led to a police vehicle: “I swear I love you more than you can imagine.”
Miles was a reserve on the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide team. Alabama had announced before Saturday’s game against LSU that he was out for the season with an ankle injury. His biography has been removed from the athletic department’s website and the university said he “has been removed from campus” and is no longer on the team.
“The University of Alabama’s highest priority is the safety and well-being of the campus community,” a university statement said. “We are saddened by the incident that occurred near campus last night and extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victim.”
Neither the driver of the other vehicle nor Harris nor Davis appeared to be affiliated with the university, Kennedy said.
