Coach speaks out following tragic homicide over weekend

JACKSON Tenn. — We have continuing coverage on a Jackson native  and Fisk University student killed in a shooting on the interstate in Nashville this past weekend. Andre Bell died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center following a tragic incident over the weekend. The investigation, led by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s Homicide Unit, is active and ongoing.

Metro Nashville Police Homicide Unit is taking the lead in Sunday night’s shooting on I-65 north at the I-40 interchange that critically wounded 20-year-old Andre Bell, a Fisk university student from Jackson. The investigation to this point shows that bell and two friends had been at a gymnastics event at the fairgrounds before getting onto the interstate in Bell’s white Nissan Sentra to return to campus.

According to the release, multiple gunshots were fired from a dark sedan and Bell was hit. Bell’s Sentra slowed and spun back into traffic before colliding with a red pickup truck.

Friends, faculty, and staff not only mourn the loss of Andre Bell at Fisk University, but also here in the Hub City where he was a resident and a student at Sacred Heart of Jesus High School which  a Catholic school, which has been permanently closed for some time. Bell was a basketball player before heading off to play ball in college. We did reach out to his former coach at Sacred Heart who now coaches in Bolivar, and he says Bell was a blessing to all of those that knew him. He wore the number ‘0’, and he was a leader to his friends, his players, and his family graciously supported him.

“They wanted it just as much as he wanted to achieve the dream that he wanted. It was a small close-knit school. Everybody was really close,and you know he left a big impact at Sacred Heart just by being that happy guy. If you saw him walking down the hall… Even if you didn’t play sports he was friends with you. He didn’t treat anyone any different. He truly was a kid that led by example,” said Nick Beauregard , Bolivar Central Head Girls Basketball Coach.

“From day one he told me that he wanted to go to college and play ball. That was always a big dream of his. The last time we were open we played here in Bolivar and he hit the game winning three. It was good to see him get a chance in college, and he got that dunk that I know he always worked hard to do,” said Beauregard.

Coach Beauregard says this is a significant loss to many of those that knew him here around the Hub City, and left a long lasting impression to all of those that were around him.

COURTESY: MNPD

“He was a great guy man. He worked on and off the court. A very respectful young man,” added Beauregard.

Metro Police are asking for information on the dark sedan, or anyone with dashcam footage from that area just after 8 p.m., To call Crime Stoppers in middle Tennessee at (615) 742-7463.
Calls to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous and qualify for a cash reward.