Beloved Youth Football Coach Is Killed During Game — and Suspect Is Opposing Coach, Whose Brother Was NFL Star

Police say 43-year-old youth football coach Mike Hickmon was allegedly shot to death by 39-year-old Yaqub Talib — a coach on the opposing team and brother to ex-NFL star Aqib Talib

A disagreement between two youth football coaches in Texas allegedly led to a deadly shooting during a game Saturday evening.

According to a Lancaster Police Department news release, 43-year-old football coach Mike Hickmon was allegedly shot to death by 39-year-old Yaqub Talib — a coach on the opposing team and brother to ex-NFL player Aqib Talib.

Police said the shooting happened just before 9:00 p.m. at a community park in Lancaster, a city about 15 miles outside of Dallas.

Witnesses told police a "disagreement between the opposing coaching staff of two youth football teams over calls made by the officiating crew" led to a physical altercation that then escalated, prompting Talib to shoot Hickmon multiple times, the release reads.

Talib allegedly fled the scene, while Hickmon was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Talib faces a single count of first-degree murder, according to police.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Mike Hickmon
Mike Hickmon. Facebook

According to WFAA-TV, Hickmon was the offensive coordinator for the D.E.A. Dragons.

Dragons' president Mike Freeman told the outlet that Hickmon — who he saw lying on the ground following the alleged shooting — was "more than just a coach."

"Great father, great man, great role model, great mentor," he said of Hickmon.

"I held his son, Little Mike Jr., and I held him like my son, and it was very, very, very hard to hold him and console him because again… just letting him know that we'll be there for him," Freeman told the outlet.

Approximately 80 kids participated in the football games that evening, per the station.

"This is something that these kids will remember for the rest of their life. They'll never forget this moment," Freeman said.

Hickmon's friend Tevar Watson, who was reportedly on another field at the time of the incident, called the shooting "senseless."

"Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life," he told the outlet. "Lost a good guy — what we call a standup guy, one of the guys that's there for his family."

Talib turned himself into authorities Monday, his attorney Clark Birdsall confirms.

"Mr. Talib regrets the tragic loss of life but went ahead and turned himself into the law this morning so his side of the story could be told," Birsdall tells PEOPLE.

Birdsall confirms Talib is currently in custody and a bond hearing is set for Monday afternoon.

Talib has not yet entered a plea to the murder charge.

Related Articles