Campus Alert Archive
UA

Basketball Player Provided Gun in Fatal Strip Shooting That Killed 23-Year-Old Woman

ALshootingemergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Shortly before 2:00 AM CST on January 15, 2023, a minor argument on The Strip near campus escalated into a fatal shooting that killed 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris of Birmingham. UA basketball player Darius Miles admitted to providing the handgun to Michael Lynn Davis, who fired into the victims' car. Both were charged with capital murder, and Davis was later convicted and sentenced to life without parole.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
1
Injured
0
Institution
The University of Alabama
Public R1 · AL
~38,320 studentsUA Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTSMS
Approximate reconstruction184 chars
UA Alert: Shooting reported near The Strip on Grace Street. Suspects fled the area heading east on University Blvd in a yellow Dodge Charger. UAPD and TPD are on scene. Avoid the area.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Tuscaloosa Police and UAPD were dispatched to the Walk of Champions at Bryant-Denny Stadium at approximately 1:45 AM CST on January 15, 2023
The victim was found shot in a vehicle; suspects had already fled in a yellow Dodge Charger
UPDATESMS
Approximate reconstruction163 chars
UA Alert: UAPD has responded to an off-campus shooting on Grace Street near The Strip. A suspect is in custody. There is no current threat to the campus community.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Darius Miles, a junior on the UA basketball team, was among those arrested and charged with capital murder
The university confirmed the shooting resulted from a minor altercation on The Strip
Context

Background

In the early morning hours of January 15, 2023, a fatal shooting occurred on Grace Street near The Strip, the popular entertainment district adjacent to the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa. Tuscaloosa Police and UAPD responded at approximately 1:45 AM CST to find 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris of Birmingham fatally shot inside a vehicle. The shooting stemmed from a minor verbal altercation between the suspects and victims on The Strip. Court documents revealed that UA basketball player Darius Miles admitted to providing the handgun to Michael Lynn Davis immediately before the shooting. Davis, 20, then fired into the victims' car, killing Harris. Both Miles and Davis were charged with capital murder and held without bond. The university's athletics department immediately removed Miles from the basketball team. Davis was subsequently convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case drew national attention due to Miles's status as a Division I athlete and raised questions about firearms access among student-athletes.
Analysis

Key Findings

A UA basketball player provided the weapon used in the fatal shooting, leading to his removal from the team and capital murder charges
The shooting resulted from a minor argument on The Strip, underscoring how quickly situations can escalate in late-night entertainment districts near campus
The victim, Jamea Jonae Harris, was not affiliated with the university
Outcome
Jamea Jonae Harris, 23, was killed. Michael Lynn Davis was found guilty of capital murder by a Tuscaloosa County jury after a four-day trial and just over an hour of deliberation, and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole by Tuscaloosa County Circuit Judge Daniel F. Pruet. Darius Miles, who was removed from the Alabama basketball team after his arrest, was charged with capital murder for allegedly providing the firearm; his trial was repeatedly delayed (including a defense motion seeking the judge's recusal) and was set to begin December 1, 2025.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    UAPD Responds to Off Campus Shooting (UA Police)
    police.ua.edu
  2. News
    Darius Miles: University of Alabama basketball player provided gun for shooting (CNN)
    cnn.com
  3. News
    Darius Miles, Alabama basketball player, faces murder charges after shooting (NPR)
    npr.org
  4. News
    University of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles provided gun in fatal shooting (ABC News)
    abcnews.go.com
  5. Student Paper
    Michael Davis Strip murder trial (The Crimson White)
    thecrimsonwhite.com
Tags
shootingfataloff-campusstudent-athletealabamacapital-murderthe-strip
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion