BESSEMER, Ala. — A !984 and 1988 U,S. Olympic track and field relay team member was killed in a shootout with another man, authorities say.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Office on Monday identified Emmit King and Willie Albert Wells as the two men who died after exchanging gunfire in Bessemer on Sunday, AL.com reported.
King, 62, was a sprinter and a member of the U.S. Olympic 4x100m team in 1984 and 1988, but he didn’t compete.
He ran for Jefferson State Community College and for the University of Alabama, where he became the 1983 NCAA champion in the 100m.
That same year, he won 100m bronze at the first world championships as part of a U.S. medals sweep with Carl Lewis and Calvin Smith. King, Lewis, Smith and Willie Gault took gold in the 4x100m.
Authorities said King and Wells, 60, knew each other and were arguing outside a house Sunday afternoon when they both pulled out guns and fired. Wells was pronounced dead at the scene, and King died later at a hospital.