A man accused of killing the coach of a youth football team over the score of the game has turned himself in, police say.
Witnesses say that Yaqub Talib, 39 — the brother of former NFL star and Super Bowl winner Aqib Talib — shot Michael Hickmon, 43, in a Dallas suburb on Saturday, according to a Lancaster Police Department press release.
Hickmon was coaching his son’s youth football team, CNN reports.
Witnesses told investigators that the teams’ coaching crews were arguing about calls by the refs, leading to an altercation. They also told local news station WFAA that Aqib Talib was present at the game as well, and accused him of starting the dispute.
Multiple Texas news stations have video footage of the altercation that took place on the field. It is unclear from the videos who began the altercation and who shot Hickmon.
“The altercation became physical leading to the suspect pulling out a firearm” and shooting Hickmon multiple times, the police press release said, noting that children and their parents were present during the incident.
Police say the suspect fled the scene in an unidentified vehicle after the shooting, taking the firearm with him.
Hickmon was transported to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
Yaqub Talib turned himself in to the Dallas County Jail on Monday after police in Lancaster said he was wanted on a warrant for first-degree murder in Hickmon’s death.
“Mr. Talib regrets the tragic loss of life but turned himself in to the law so he could tell his side of the story,” Yaqub Talib’s attorney, Clark Birdsall, told NBC News on Monday.
Birdsall declined to comment on specifics but said that “there are some defensive issues, and Yaqub Talib looks forward to being able to have his day in court.”
Aqib Talib’s lawyer, Frank Perez, also released a statement to Dallas TV station WFAA, saying his client “was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life.”
“He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy,” Perez said.
Perez told CNN:
“It’s unfair to pass judgment before a full investigation has taken place. I believe once all the witnesses are interviewed there will be a different perspective as to what happened this past Saturday.”
Hickmon’s sister, Ciciely, told CNN that her brother leaves behind a wife, two daughters, a son, and three grandchildren.
“Mike was an amazing husband, son, father, grandfather, brother, friend and coach. Our family is grieving. Right now, we don’t see an end to our grief,” the family told CNN in a statement. “We miss him immensely. We always will. We will love him forever.”