#UAB freshman linebacker Allen Merrick, 19, dead from gunshot wound

A freshman football player at the University of Alabama at Birmingham died from a gunshot wound Friday morning, according to local police.

Allen Merrick, a 19-year-old who played linebacker, was shot while visiting his hometown of Gadsden, Alabama. Police said the shooting, which occurred on the previous day, appeared to be accidental.

Merrick was a three-star prospect and was Gadsden City’s defensive player of the year in 2019. He grew up about an hour away from the UAB campus.

He is the second UAB football player to die this offseason: Jamari Smith, who played safety, also lost his life after drowning in a lake in May.