University stunned by murder
Details continue to come to light
By: Nikki Bussey
Staff Reporter
Issue date: 10/2/07 Section: Other Stories
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Almost 700 additional students signed up for Tiger Text today after a University of Memphis football player was fatally shot at Carpenter Complex on Sunday night.
Taylor Bradford, a junior defensive lineman from Nashville, was pronounced dead at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. He was inside the gated area in Carpenter Complex when he received the fatal bullet wound. After he was shot, he drove his light-colored Lincoln across Central and hit a tree near Zach Curlin, police said. No eye witnesses have come forward at this time, according to police.
With the killer at large, officials ordered the campus to be put on lock-down. Students were not allowed to leave the dorm, and only residents were allowed to enter dorms. The lock-down lasted from around 10 p.m. until 7 Monday morning.
"We have never had a scenario like this, not in my 23 years," said Danny Armitage, associate dean of Students Residence Life and Dining Services. "Basically, the (suspects) had left the campus, but we wanted to take all precautions and not let anyone in the residence halls, unless they were a resident."
One football player, who wished to remain anonymous, was studying when he heard the gunshot.
"It sounded like somebody ran over a coke can or something. I didn't know that's what it was until everyone started calling me," he said.
Campus police said this act was targeted. A Safety Alert was sent to students, faculty and staff, providing information about the attack. "While suspect information cannot be released at this time, the initial investigation indicates this was an act directed specifically toward the victim and was not a random act of violence," it read.
Will Terrell, president of Kappa Alpha Psi, the fraternity with which Bradford was affiliated, agreed that he didn't think the act was by chance.
"I believe it was pre-meditated," Terrell said.
Bradford, 21, whose nickname among friends and family was "Booger," played two seasons at Samford University in Birmingham before transferring to The University of Memphis in fall 2006.
Taylor Bradford, a junior defensive lineman from Nashville, was pronounced dead at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. He was inside the gated area in Carpenter Complex when he received the fatal bullet wound. After he was shot, he drove his light-colored Lincoln across Central and hit a tree near Zach Curlin, police said. No eye witnesses have come forward at this time, according to police.
With the killer at large, officials ordered the campus to be put on lock-down. Students were not allowed to leave the dorm, and only residents were allowed to enter dorms. The lock-down lasted from around 10 p.m. until 7 Monday morning.
"We have never had a scenario like this, not in my 23 years," said Danny Armitage, associate dean of Students Residence Life and Dining Services. "Basically, the (suspects) had left the campus, but we wanted to take all precautions and not let anyone in the residence halls, unless they were a resident."
One football player, who wished to remain anonymous, was studying when he heard the gunshot.
"It sounded like somebody ran over a coke can or something. I didn't know that's what it was until everyone started calling me," he said.
Campus police said this act was targeted. A Safety Alert was sent to students, faculty and staff, providing information about the attack. "While suspect information cannot be released at this time, the initial investigation indicates this was an act directed specifically toward the victim and was not a random act of violence," it read.
Will Terrell, president of Kappa Alpha Psi, the fraternity with which Bradford was affiliated, agreed that he didn't think the act was by chance.
"I believe it was pre-meditated," Terrell said.
Bradford, 21, whose nickname among friends and family was "Booger," played two seasons at Samford University in Birmingham before transferring to The University of Memphis in fall 2006.