At least three people were killed -- including two former Auburn University football players -- in a shooting at an apartment complex near the campus in Auburn, Ala., the police said Sunday, in a fight that the local news media reported may have started as a dispute over a woman.
The two former players were identified as Edward Christian, 20, and Ladarious Phillips, 20. Demario Pitts, who was not a student at the university, was also killed.
The police chief of the city of Auburn, Tommy Dawson, said the police had identified a suspect, Desmonte Leonard, of Montgomery, Ala., and had asked that he turn himself in.
Dawson said that in addition to the three killed, three others were wounded in the fight, which he said occurred late Saturday at a party at an off-campus housing complex called University Heights.
Two of the people who were wounded, including Eric Mack, a third-year offensive lineman on the Auburn football team, were expected to recover. Another was listed in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head.
Details about the shooting were still murky on Sunday afternoon. A witness, Turquorius Vines, 23, told The Associated Press that he and a friend had attended a pool party at the housing complex on Saturday night when they got into an argument over a woman with two other men. The dispute escalated into violence, and at least one of the men began shooting.
"We're deeply saddened about last night's tragic
events that impacted the Auburn community and the Auburn family," Jay Gogue, the university's president, said in a statement. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to the victims and their families. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We're in constant contact with area authorities and will continue to assist in any way possible. Our attention is now focused on providing care and support to those touched by this tragedy." Phillips, Christian and Mack came to Auburn in the same recruiting class, in 2010, the year that the university won the national title. Mike Battles, who was Phillips' coach at Handley High School in Roanoke, Ala., said that Phillips was in the process of transferring to another school to continue his football career. He saw limited playing time for Auburn last season.