College basketball player gunned down on Nashville freeway, police hunting for suspects

A Tennessee college basketball player was shot and killed while in a vehicle on a Nashville freeway, police said Monday. 

Andre Bell, 20, was a Fisk University sophomore from Jackson, Tennessee. He died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said. 

Bell was with two friends heading back to campus on Interstate 65 after attending a gymnastics event. As the trio were in Bell's Nissan Sentra, the friends noticed a black sedan in the left lane beside them, police said. 

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"Both said they were distracted by their cellphones when they suddenly heard multiple gunshots and realized Bell had been hit," a police news release states. 

The Sentra slowed and spun back into traffic before colliding with a red pickup truck, police said. The dark sedan kept going. 

Bell was shot in the head and rushed to the hospital in critical condition before he died. 

Investigators said evidence suggests that the car from where the shots were fired likely has windshield damage based on the shattered glass at the scene.

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In a statement, Fisk University said it was mourning the tragic loss of Bell, a business administration major.

Fisk men's basketball head coach Jeremiah Crutcher described Bell as a "gentle young man" who was "unfairly snatched from this world."

"He was a dominant force on the Fisk University Men's Basketball team, but he was most remembered for his infectious smile, loving personality, and unique ability to always bring warmth to a room," he said. "We now have a deep absence in our program, but more importantly, we have a deep pain in our hearts. He will be truly missed. Our thoughts and unwavering prayers are with his family and the little kids in his family and in Nashville who looked up to him."