Allen Merrick, a freshman in Alabama-Birmingham, died Friday morning from a gunshot wound Thursday in his hometown of Gadsden, Alabama. He’s 19.
Police Captain Scott Lumpkin showed Thursday that a young man was seriously injured in what police were in an accidental shooting. Police did not disclose the names of those involved in the incident.
“Pray for the circle of relatives of Allen Merrick, a young man who joined our UAB football family circle this season,” Alabama-Birmingham coach Bill Clark said in a statement before reports that Merrick had succumbed to his injury.
“Allen was at Gadsden’s when he was shot,” Clark said. ”He’s at UAB Hospital, where I’ve been with Allen’s family, but I don’t have the challenge to share right now.
“I ask you all to respect the privacy of your circle of family members and to keep you all in your prayers,” he said.
“It’s just tragic,” said Tony Reddick, superintendent of schools in the city of Gadsden. He learned of the incident, which concerned at least one other student at Gadsen City High School, around 1 p.m. Thursday.
He said Merrick had a “very promising sporting and educational career” and that what happened was heartbreaking.
Reddick said he understood that Merrick is getting married for a doctor’s appointment and that he with his friends when “something happened.”
“Like me, many lives have been devastated by this incident,” he said.
Contribution: Donna Thornton, Gadsen Times