One day after a coaches’ disagreement during a youth football game in Lancaster, Texas escalated into a physical fight and fatal shooting, authorities are hunting for Yaqub Talib, the brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib, who they’ve named as a “wanted suspect.”
Talib, 39, is charged with murder, the Lancaster Police Department told The Daily Beast on Sunday evening. The charge was first reported by TMZ Sports.
The shooting in Lancaster Community Park took place just before 9 p.m. on Saturday, police said. With children present on the field, multiple adults can be seen yelling in footage of the incident, with the sound of gunfire and screaming cutting in as someone in the crowd allegedly pulls out a gun.
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One of the coaches was fatally wounded in the shooting, according to Lancaster police, who did not identify the victim. A number of reports on social media identified him as Michael Hickmon, with several people who appeared to be Hickmon’s family members changing their Facebook profile or cover photos in memoriam.
The family had not issued a public statement as of Sunday night.
But the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed to The Dallas Morning News that a 43-year-old man named Michael Hickmon had died at a hospital on Saturday night. His cause of death was not immediately identified by the medical examiner.
Aqib Talib, who is three and a half years younger than his brother, was also at the game on Saturday, his lawyer confirmed to TMZ. The former cornerback “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,” the attorney added.
Aqib was not named in the Lancaster police’s Sunday press release. In 2020, he retired after nearly 15 years in the league, having won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos. His career also included stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the New England Patriots, and the Los Angeles Rams. He currently works as a Fox Sports commentator.
In April 2015, both brothers were investigated by the Dallas Police Department after an incident of alleged aggravated assault involving a firearm at a nightclub. The police suspended their investigation the same month, and neither Aqib nor Yaqub was ever arrested or charged in connection with the case.
“Where we grew up, you fought quicker than normal,” Yaqub told The Denver Post in a 2015 profile on his brother. “You didn't want anybody to see a weakness. It was the culture we grew up in… Looking back on it, I think it created an us-against-the world attitude.”
James Proche, a wide receiver from Dallas currently playing for the Baltimore Ravens, expressed grief and frustration over the shooting. “a gun to a youth football game?” he tweeted on 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.”
