Alabama Fan Charged With Murder After Shooting LSU Fan During ‘Game of the Century’

A fight between two college football fans ended in the worst way possible. David Allen Fulkerson, an Alabama fan, has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting LSU fan James Michael Roland “Mikie” Merritt while watching the LSU vs. Alabama game earlier this month which was also called the “Game of the Century.” Merrit spent a week in the hospital before passing away on Friday. Fulkerson was originally charged with attempted murder, but it has since been upgraded to murder.

“They just got into it over the ball game,” Colbert County Sheriff Frank Williamson said per the Baton Rouge Advocate. “They’d been jawing at each other all day. Alcohol played a big part in it.”

According to court records, Fulkerson, 31, and Merritt, 29 were watching the game and then Merritt called a football player an explicative. Fulkerson thought that Merritt was talking to him and that’s when he grabbed his gun. That led to a fight and it also led to Merritt being shot. Fulkerson’s defense attorney said the shooting was in self-defense due to the black-eye he suffered. However, one witness told authorities Fulkerson hit himself in the face. His bail is set at $100,000.

This is not the first shooting that involved the LSU versus Alabama game. In Oregon, Christopher Honey, 51, was watching the game with his friend when they got in a verbal dispute. It led to Honey grabbing his shotgun and shooting his friend in the back in the head with a birdshot shell.

The friend has been released from the hospital and his identity was not released at the time. As for Honey, he was arrested and was detained at Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office adult jail. His bail was set at $320,000.

The reason for the violence while watching the game is unknown. But the contest did feature the No. 1 team in the county in LSU and the No. 2 team in the country in Alabama. LSU won the game 46-41 and they are on track to reach the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in January. As for Alabama. they still have a chance to reach the playoffs because the team is ranked No. 5 in the nation. However, they will need to win out and get some help from either LSU or Georgia who will likely face each other in the SEC Championship game.