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Aqib Talib's brother turns himself in after fatal shooting at youth football game

The shooting at the football game happened about 8:50 p.m. at the Lancaster Community Park. The coach's son was on the field at the time

LANCASTER, Texas — The man wanted in the killing of another man during an argument at a youth football game in Lancaster has turned himself into authorities.

Yaqub Salik Talib was identified as the suspect in the shooting, which happened Saturday night.

Police on Sunday said Talib, the brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib, was wanted in the shooting.

Shortly before noon Monday, Yaqub Talib's attorney, Clark Birdsall, confirmed that his client had turned himself into authorities at the Dallas County Jail.

Birdsall released a statement on behalf of Talib, saying, "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."

The Saturday shooting happened about 8:50 p.m. at the Lancaster Community Park at 1749 Jefferson Street in Lancaster, which is in southeast Dallas County.

Police said responding officers were told of a "disagreement among coaching staff and the officiating crew," according to a news release.

Credit: Dallas County Jail
Yaqub Talib mugshot from Dallas County Jail.

While the disagreement unfolded, the coaches got into a physical altercation, and one of the people involved in the fight fired a gun. One man was shot, police said.

He was taken to a hospital, where he later died, according to the news release.

While authorities haven't officially released an identification, coaches with the youth team D.E.A. Dragons told WFAA the victim was Mike Hickmon.

“We saw one of our coaches laying down on the ground right there. It was tough," Dragons' president Mike Freeman said. “More than just a coach. Great father, great man, great role model, great mentor.”

Police named Yaqub Talib as the suspect, but more information about his involvement in the shooting was not released.

"[Talib] feels terrible the whole thing happened. But he...I think there's some heavy defensive overtones to what happened out there on that playing field. And in time, that'll all come out," said Birdsall.

Talib is the brother of former NFL cornerback Aqib Talib. Both are coaches on the North Dallas United Bobcats, the other team playing at the time of the shooting. 

Tevar Watson owns the team and was on another field cleaning up at the time of the shooting. He's been friends with Hickmon for roughly a decade after the two played in a 9v9 adult football league. 

“I think it’s all senseless, man. Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life man," he said. “Lost a good guy. What we call a standup guy, one of the guys that’s there for his family.”

Watson said roughly 80 kids were in the area when it happened. 

Credit: DEA Dragons
Mike Hickmon

"I held my son after that for 20 minutes of him just crying because no kid should have to see that," he said. 

Freeman said the argument started when Hickmon went to pick up a football and someone kicked it away. That led to the fighting and eventually the shooting. 

Hickmon, 43, had been an offensive coordinator on the team for two years and made a name for himself playing at Maceo Smith High School and then the University of North Texas. His son was one of the 9-year-olds on the field at the time of the shooting.

“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 said. 

The team will begin school Monday, just two days after the shooting, and Freeman said they're trying to get counselors for the team.

“I’m lost at words. I don’t know how to explain it to the kids. That’s the part that I’m stuck on right now. How do I explain it them. Why?," Freeman said. “This is something that these kids will remember for the rest of their life. They’ll never forget this moment.”

Birdsall said there's more to the story.

"There's some anger out there. I can see that on social media. But they don't know the full story," he said. 

"The only thing that I want right now is just justice," Freeman said. "That’s all."

Reached for comment, Aqib Talib's lawyer Frank Perez provided WFAA the following statement: "Aqib Talib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life. He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy."

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