(Credit: Auburn University Police)
(CBS/AP) AUBURN, Ala. - Authorities are now searching for 22-year-old Desmonte Leonard. He is the man who is suspected of killing three people and wounding three others in a weekend shooting at a pool party near Auburn University. Two of the slain victims were former players for the school's powerhouse football program.
Leonard now faces three counts of capital murder after an alleged open fire Saturday night at an apartment complex, which reportedly started after getting into a fight with some of the victims over a woman.
A witness at the party said he and a friend were approached by two other men who started arguing with them over a woman. The witness said punches were thrown when one of the attackers pulled a gun and started shooting, killing his friend while wounding others.
Erick Mack was one of the wounded victims and is a junior offensive lineman at Auburn University who played five games last season. Coach Gene Chizik said Mack was expected to recover.
The slain victims were Edward Christian, an offensive lineman who left last season while dealing with a back injury, and Ladarious Phillips, a backup fullback who had previously quit playing football.
"Nobody should ever have to endure such unimaginable grief, and we will love and support the victims' families during this terribly difficult time," Chizik said. "We have a lot of people on our football team that are hurting right now and we're going to do everything we can to help them get through this."
Police said they don't believe the shooting had anything to do with some of the victims being former or current players on the football team, which won the national championship in 2010. Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said Leonard fled the scene in a white Chevrolet that he abandoned on the way back to Montgomery, about 55 miles away.
