NFL star’s brother wanted in deadly pee wee football shooting

The brother of former NFL star Aqib Talib is wanted in connection with a deadly shooting that took place after a physical altercation at a youth football game in Texas turned fatal.

On Sunday evening, the Lancaster Police Department released a statement saying there was a warrant out for Yaqub Talib, 39, the older brother of the Super Bowl-winning star. It asked that anyone with information regarding the man’s whereabouts report it to local authorities.

Shortly after 9pm, police reported they’d received multiple calls about a suspected shooting at a community park in Lancaster, located about 16 miles south of Dallas, where a Pee Wee football game was being held.

Upon arrival, authorities reported that a disagreement had broken out between a group of coaching staff for one of the youth football teams and the referee for the match.

That fight, according to authorities and video footage obtained by TMZ Sports, then escalated into a physical brawl after which the sound of gunshots can be heard being fired off on the football field where children and parents were present.

The victim in the shooting, identified by police as a male member of the coaching staff on one of the Pee Wee teams, was transported to a nearby hospital after the incident but was later pronounced dead.

Reports online began to identify the victim as Michael Hickmon, who was a coach for one of the youth football teams in the Dallas area, according to WFAA. And later, the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed that the 43-year-old man had died on Saturday evening, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“We saw one of our coaches laying down on the ground right there. It was tough,” said Mike Freeman, the president of DEA Dragons, a youth football team in the Dallas-area, in an interview with WFAA after the brazen shooting. “More than just a coach. Great father, great man, great role model, great mentor,” he added.

In a separate post online, Texas Football Life identified the deceased man as “Coach Mike Hickmon” and expressed their deepest sympathies after the “appalling tragedy” that reportedly claimed his life.

“We send our deepest thoughts and prayers to the family, friends, former teammates, and players of Coach Mike Hickmon after learning about the appalling tragedy that took place earlier this evening in Lancaster,” the tweet read.

The news of the Saturday night shooting continued to ripple through the Texas football community, and even moved the wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens, James Proche, who is originally from Dallas, to express his disdain for the incident.

“A gun to a youth football game?” he tweeted Sunday. “Another life taken for no reason. another black kid growing up without a father. we gotta do better Dallas. the pride ain’t ever worth the consequences.”

The family had not issued a public statement as of Monday morning night.

The Independent reached out to the Lancaster Police Department for comment on the shooting but did not hear back immediately.

According to the original report with TMZ Sports, the younger Talib and current Amazon NFL studio analyst had also been in attendance at the Pee Wee football game on Saturday night, but he did not comment on his sibling’s alleged involvement in the shooting.

“Aqib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life,” an attorney for the former Denver Broncos player said in a statement shared with TMZ. “He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy.”

Aqib Talib retired from professional football in 2020 and throughout his 12-year career in the NFL, he played with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New England Patriots, the Los Angeles Rams, the Miami Dolphins and the Denver Broncos, where he was part of a Super Bowl-winning team.