Two men murdered Nashville college basketball player out of jealousy over a girlfriend, police say
Andre Bell was fatally shot while traveling on Interstate 65. He was on his way home from a school gymnastics event.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Metro Nashville Police have arrested two Murfreesboro men in the fatal shooting of a Fisk University student, and they say they killed him out of jealousy over a girlfriend.
Andre Bell, 20, was fatally shot in January while driving on Interstate 65 north in Nashville. The college basketball player was with two friends, on their way home from a university gymnastics event at the Nashville Fairgrounds.
After “five months of meticulous investigation” following the shooting, police say evidence led them to Brayden Carter, 19, and Damarion Coleman, 18. They’re both charged with first-degree murder.
The Metro Nashville Police posted videos late Monday night of both men being escorted out of the department headquarters on the way to booking.
Detectives say the shooting spurred from Carter’s jealousy and possessiveness over his girlfriend, who is a member of the Fisk gymnastics team. “Extensive” review and analysis of cell phone data helped lead them to that conclusion, a press release says.
“It has been reported that he did not like other young men talking to her,” a police press release said. “Carter and Coleman are alleged to have been at the fairgrounds that January night and followed Bell and his two teammates with the intent of scaring the basketball team to stay away from the girlfriend.”
The development comes after police put out a call for information in early January, saying that they believed the shooter was in a dark-colored car. The gunfire struck Bell in the head, and he was later pronounced dead at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
In the wake of the shooting, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Nashville Crime Stoppers announced they were each offering a $5,000 reward for information in the shooting. Bell’s family also posted $25,000 toward the fund, bringing the total reward money up to $35,000.
In addition to first-degree murder, Carter is also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of using a gun in the commission of a dangerous felony.
MNPD says the 19-year-old was indicted by a grand jury. His bond was set at $250,000, per the police department‘s press release.
Coleman is facing the same charges in juvenile court, according to police. They say he was 17 at the time of the shooting.
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