Alabama Fan Charged With Murdering LSU Fan During Game

COLBERT COUNTY, AL — Football fans in the Southeastern Conference are some of the most intense and outspoken fans in the country, but in the case of a Colbert County man, authorities say fandom led to murder.

Reports from media outlets in Colbert County say Littleville, Alabama, resident David Allen Fulkerson — reportedly a University of Alabama football fan — has been charged with murdering his friend James Michael Roland Merritt — an LSU football fan — when the two were watching the game between the two teams Nov. 9. A WBRC report said the fight became heated when Fulkerson thought Merritt called him an expletive.

The fight and subsequent shooting occurred at Fulkerson's residence at 2172 Ligon Springs Road, where multiple people were gathered to watch the game.

According to the Florence Times Daily, Colbert County Sheriff Frank Williamson said the Crimson Tide's 46-41 loss to LSU "provided the catalyst for the shooting."

Merritt was taken to Hunstville Hospital where he died Friday.

This is not the first time violence has surrounded this particular match-up. Last year's game in Baton Rouge — a 29-0 Alabama victory — resulted in an Alabama fan being beaten to death in a Louisiana bar. Although authorities could not determine whether or not the outcome of the game caused the fight, alcohol consumption during the game likely did.