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By Faith Callens

Hundreds packed into the football stadium for Southside’s 62-6 win over Wilcox Central to celebrate homecoming.

Fans were allowed to set up tailgating areas around the field before and after the game.

The celebration soon turned to tragedy when the life of a Selma native was claimed Friday night after shots rang out an hour after the game.

Dallas County Sheriff Mike Granthum identified the victim of the shooting as 32-year-old Devante T. Hall, who got into a verbal altercation with an unidentified black male on the stadium’s football grounds.

According to Granthum, Hall was trying to leave the football stadium when witnesses said they saw a “red dot” from an infrared scope appear on Hall and said that’s when they heard shots.

Granthum said Hall was struck one time and two people at the tailgate that knew Hall put him in a Mercedes-Benz and drove toward Vaughan Regional Medical Center in Selma.

On the way to the hospital, the vehicle traveling westbound to Selma ran into the back of a jeep slowing down at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

Hall was pronounced dead at the crash scene and as of yet, Granthum said there are no suspects in custody at this time.

“Once the ambulance arrived and attempted to perform life-saving measures, but he had already succumbed to his injuries,” Granthum said. “We sent some shell casings off to forensics and will know something by Friday. We don’t know if the shell casings were from this incident or another previous incident.”

Granthum said there was one other person injured, but he was not sure if it was related to the gunfire.

“Thank goodness no one else was injured there because there were hundreds and hundreds of people. And luckily it was just after (the game),” Granthum said. “But these schools have to realize they’re there for the ballgame. Once the ballgame is over with, the team gets on the bus. They need to cut the lights out. So people need to go home. They aren’t there to facilitate any after parties or fifth quarters. They should not be allowed on school property.”

The Selma Times-Journal reached out to Dallas County Superintendent Anthony Sampson for comment on the incident since the incident occurred on school grounds. No answer has been received as of Wednesday afternoon.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please call the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office at 334-874-2530 or crime stoppers at 215-STOP.