One person was killed and eight others were wounded in a mass shooting outside Legion Field after the annual Magic City Classic football game on Saturday night, police in Birmingham, Alabama, said.
Michael Pickett, chief of the Birmingham Police Department, said most spectators and families had left the stadium property after the game, but the shooting happened nearby, where vendors were set up along Graymont Avenue.
He said he was “very grateful that more people weren’t injured.”
The circumstances of the shooting were unclear. Police spokesperson De’Rell Freeman said one person had been detained and transported to police headquarters for questioning, and “multiple weapons” had been found and secured.
Alabama State and Alabama A&M are historically Black universities and archrivals whose annual meeting has been played for more than ۱۰۰ years. Nearly ۷۰,۰۰۰ fans attended Saturday’s game, which Alabama A&M won ۳۱-۲۸. The event draws huge crowds to Birmingham every year.
“Everyone knows this is the largest event we have here in the city and it’s extremely taxing on our personnel,” said Pickett. “Other leaders in law enforcement recognize that and they quickly offered up support and we are grateful for that quick response.”
