Photo: UAB Athletics
The fatal shooting of a former Alabama football player appears to have eerie similarities to his father's killing just five years prior.
On Sunday (March 26), 25-year-old Demetrius Davis Jr., who played football for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was shot and killed at a gas station in the city, per The Grio.
Davis Jr.'s death followed the fatal shooting of his father, Demetrius Davis Sr., at another gas station, at M&N Groceries, on the west side, of Birmingham in October 2018.
According to police, both men were targeted. 51-year-old Byron Steele was arrested on Monday (March 27) on charges of capital murder in the shooting of the former football player. However, no arrests have been made in his father's 2018 killing.
Davis Jr. was said to have been pumping gas at a Circle K Gas Station on Sunday when he was shot. In response, Davis Jr. opened fire, but he ultimately collapsed and died on the scene, according to police.
Authorities believe Davis Jr. was shot in retaliation for the suspect's family member being shot in a separate incident.
“This is to bring no shame to our victims from Sunday, but since Sunday, our detectives have uncovered that the victims in each homicide case have been involved in some type of activity prior to the homicide which contributed heavily to their death,” Officer Truman Fitzgerald said in a statement.
“We want to get the message out to the public that we have to be really mindful of our behavior because we have seen just the lengths people will go to target you if they have something out for you."
The case of Davis Jr.'s father remains open.
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