A former Maryland football safety was charged with second-degree murder after a fatal shooting in Florida on Saturday.
Avantae Williams, 24, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with an incident at a Florida bar on Saturday. Williams transferred to Maryland in 2023 after spending two seasons at Miami, but only appeared in five games.
Officers from the DeLand Police Department responded to a shooting at about 1:30 a.m. at McCabe’s Bar on Saturday, according to a department Facebook post. Witnesses said a fistfight had occurred between several men before a man pulled out a firearm and struck 32-year-old Keshod Harris in the chest, who later died from his injuries, according to the department’s Facebook post.
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A bartender also sustained gunshot wounds to both hands and was taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries, according to the post.
Officers arrested Williams early Saturday morning, a Facebook post on Monday from the department read. Police did not disclose how Williams was identified as a suspect.
The DeLand Police Department did not respond to an email seeking information.
Williams was dismissed from Miami football after a domestic violence related arrest in 2021. The safety faced three counts of aggravated battery of a pregnant person, ESPN reported. The charges were later dropped and Williams was reinstated to the team in 2021.
The former Terp played in 17 games at Miami before he transferred. Williams was rated the No. 1-rated safety in the 2020 recruiting class by Rivals and ESPN.
Maryland athletics declined to comment on Williams’ arrest.
