One person was killed and eight others were wounded in two separate shootings just outside Legion Field after the annual Magic City Classic football game on Saturday night, Mayor Randall Woodfin said at a news conference Sunday.
Two were listed in critical condition Sunday, fire officials said. Victims ranged in age from 19 to 30.
Alabama State and Alabama A&M are archrivals whose annual contest has been played for more than 100 years. Nearly 70,000 fans attended Saturday’s game, won by Alabama A&M 31-28. The event draws some of the largest crowds in the country for games played in their college football division.
Michael Pickett, chief of the Birmingham Police Department, said most spectators and families had left the stadium property after the game. The first shooting happened nearby, where vendors were set up along Graymont Avenue.
The circumstances of the shootings were unclear, and it was also unclear where the fatality occurred.
Police spokesperson De'Rell Freeman said one person had been detained and that “multiple weapons” were found. Woodfin said that person is a 17-year-old who used an illegal Glock switch conversion device, which can convert a gun into a fully-automatic firearm. Authorities said they are pursing other suspects.
The game between two historically Black colleges and universities is a celebration of HBCU culture. Woodfin said the community can have honest conversations about public safety while embracing and celebrating what the Classic stands for.
"We will not retreat from our history," Woodfin said. "We will not apologize for our culture, and we will not turn our backs on the institutions and traditions that have contributed so much to this city and our communities. We will continue to support, defend and uplift our city's historically Black tradition."
