Man Arrested in Murder of College Football Player Daniel Howard

An Oklahoma City man was arrested in the shooting death of Daniel Howard, a 22-year-old college football player. J'Coal Glover, 30, was arrested at an Oklahoma City gas station on Jan. 7. Although he was charged with first-degree murder, records show Clover did not pull the trigger, reports News9.

Howard, who played football at Fort Hays State University in Kansas, was fatally injured in a shooting at Sunset Patio Lounge on Jan. 1, Oklahoma City police said. Five other people were injured. The shooting happened after several people were kicked out of the bar for fighting. The argument continued at a nearby parking lot, police said, reports the Associated Press.

"Some of those people who were struck in the parking lot were bystanders," Edmond Police Sgt. Dillon Quirk told News9. He added that the shooting "was not a random act." When police arrived at the scene, they found one person deceased, Oklahoma City Police Sgt. Rob Robertson said.

Glover was among those "forced outside by security," according to new court filings. Surveillance camera footage shows Glover allegedly walking to his vehicle to retrieve "an item from inside, then returning to the parking lot," moments after he and his party were arguing with the victim, police said.

At that point, a second altercation broke out. Cameras show Glover trying to conceal a second suspect who was "holding a firearm behind his back." according to court records. The gunman allegedly reached around Glover to shoot at the victims.

Howard transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M to Fort Hays State for his junior year, reports KWCH. "When he decided to come to Fort Hays, we were very, very excited about him," FHSU football coach Chris Brown said. "Not just because of his athletic ability, but also the things he was going to bring to our team and the leadership he would bring to our team as well." Brown added that Howard showed leadership skills on and off the field.

"He was a young man that truly cared about people themselves," Brown told KWCH. "I mean, how many times do you hear about a player that comes up to a coach and asks, 'How are you doing,' and really means it? You could see him growing daily: as a player, as a person, as a father himself."

The Howard family set up a GoFundMe page to pay the costs of funeral services and his father's bereavement leave. The page has raised over $11,000 of the $15,000 goal his family set.

"I hate the fact that I'm not going to get a chance to see him graduate from college, which he was on track for," Darwin Franklin, who knew Howard, told OKC Fox. "I hate the fact that we're not going to get the opportunity to see him be a father. He has a son. Those are the things that hurt more."