Background: Brayden Carter being arrested (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department). Inset top: Damarion Coleman (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department). Inset bottom: Andre Justus Bell (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department).
Two men have been arrested in Tennessee following the tragic shooting of a college student, allegedly sparked by jealousy over a woman. The incident has left a community in mourning and raised questions about the circumstances leading to such violence.
Brayden Carter, 19, and Damarion Coleman, 18, are facing charges of first-degree murder for the death of 20-year-old Andre Justus Bell, as announced by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Carter is also facing additional gun-related charges, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime.
On January 11, Bell, a student at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, was returning to campus after volunteering at a gymnastics event held at the Nashville Fairgrounds. He was driving his white Nissan Sentra on I-65 north, near the I-40 East junction, accompanied by two fellow students, as stated by the police and the university’s athletics director.
Tragically, a dark-colored sedan pulled up beside Bell’s car, and someone inside opened fire. Bell was struck in the head and succumbed to his injuries, a devastating blow to his friends, family, and the university community.
Authorities spent months diligently pursuing leads to identify those involved in this senseless act of violence. In March, the police department announced a $25,000 reward offered by Bell’s family, supplemented by a $5,000 contribution from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and another reward of up to $5,000 from Nashville Crime Stoppers, in hopes of encouraging anyone with information to come forward.
On Tuesday, officers announced their arrests of Carter and Coleman. They have also shared their suspected motive for the shooting.
Carter was jealous and possessive over his girlfriend, a member of the university’s gymnastics team, police said, citing cellphone data, per local NBC affiliate WSMV.
“It has been reported that he did not like other young men talking to her,” police added in a press release. “Carter and Coleman are alleged to have been at the fairgrounds that January night and followed Bell and his two teammates with the intent of scaring the basketball team to stay away from the girlfriend.”
Bell was a basketball player at Fisk University and was “a scholar and beloved, integral part” of the team, the athletics director said.
“[W]e lost a leader on and off the basketball court,” the team’s coach added in January. “He was a dominant force on the Fisk University Men’s Basketball team, but he was most remembered for his infectious smile, loving personality, and unique ability to always bring warmth to a room.”
Carter and Coleman also face attempted murder charges, but Coleman’s case is currently in juvenile court, as he was 17 at the time of the shooting. In their request for information about the incident in March, police did not mention anyone else in the car with Bell being injured.