Adrian Laroze Briskey, 28, was charged with murder of 36-year-old Michelle Shepherd in Hoover, Ala., on Monday. The reason for the shooting, according to a witness? Because Shepherd, an Alabama fan, did not seem crestfallen after the Crimson Tide lost in dramatic fashion to archrival Auburn Saturday night.
Briskey, who is also an Alabama fan, allegedly became angry when she saw the victim and her sister, Nekesa Shepherd, joking with others after the last-second loss. Someone cracked that the Tide loss was not as bad as if the NBA’s Miami Heat had lost a game.
“She said we weren’t real Alabama fans because it didn’t bother us that they lost. And then she started shooting,” Nekesa Shepherd told The Associated Press. “It was over a football game. I’m never going to forget it because she died in my arms.”
Michelle Shepherd, the mother of three, was shot multiple times in the chest and stomach and died in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover. The women did not know each other before the party,
Nekesa Shepherd said Briskey drank several shots of liquor during the game and “went crazy” when she heard people joking after Alabama lost. Shepherd said she and her sister were invited to the party by a mutual friend who also invited Briskey. About two dozen people were on hand.
Hoover police Capt. Jim Coker said both Birmingham women were Alabama fans and at the same party for the annual game between intrastate rivals. With no time left on the clock, Auburn returned a missed Crimson Tide field goal more than 100 yards for a 34-28 victory, dashing any hopes of Alabama playing for a third straight national championship.
Police are investigating if the shooting was, indeed, precipitated by the football game. Coker said alcohol might have been involved, but investigators are awaiting the results of toxicology tests results.
