Former Alabama track star, Olympian Emmit King killed in shootout
King, 62, was a sprinter and a member of the U.S. relay team for the Summer Olympics in 1984
A former University of Alabama track star and Olympian was killed in a shootout with another man, authorities say.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office on Monday identified Emmit King and Willie Albert Wells as the two men who died after exchanging gunfire in Bessemer on Sunday, AL.com reported.
King, 62, was a sprinter and a member of the U.S. relay team for the Summer Olympics in 1984 and 1988, but he didn’t compete.
He ran for Jefferson State Community College and for the University of Alabama, where he became the 1983 NCAA national champion in the 100 meters. That same year, he won the bronze in the 100 meters at the first World Championships.
Authorities said King and Wells, 60, knew each other and were arguing outside a house Sunday afternoon when they both pulled out guns and fired. Wells was pronounced dead at the scene, and King died later at a hospital.
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