tailgating hazardous to living (shooting at tailgating)
 

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/South/09/....ap/index.html

:eek: :eek:

From this story it sounds like they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Who knows what really happened. It's still a shame.:(

Tailgate party ends in tragedy
September 6, 2004

BY MONIFA THOMAS Staff Reporter Advertisement

Ever since they met in fourth grade, Brett Johnson Harman and Kevin McCann were as close as brothers.

"They had the same mannerisms, the same kind of humor, and they even looked alike," said McCann's father, Dennis McCann. "They were inseparable."

Above all, the best friends shared a deep love and talent for wrestling, competing on the same Rosemont youth team and later earning national rankings at separate northwest suburban high schools.

Saturday night was supposed to be one of the last chances for the 23-year-old buddies to hang out before Harman, a U.S. Marine second lieutenant stationed at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, went off to fight in Iraq in January. McCann, of Chicago, had traveled to Raleigh to visit.

Instead, both were shot dead while tailgating in the parking lot of North Carolina State's football stadium. A witness said the shootings happened after the men confronted a man who drove erratically through a crowded parking lot. McCann's father disputed that account.

Brothers arrested

Two brothers -- ages 20 and 22 -- were charged Sunday in their slayings, police said.

"This is all wrong," said Harman's girlfriend, Zora Popovic. "It's not at all how things were supposed to go for these two guys."

Witnesses say Harman, of Park Ridge, and McCann were tossing a football before the kickoff of N.C. State's season opener against Richmond. A car sped through the lot, and witness Brian Smith, 31, said McCann and Harman pulled the driver from the car and beat him.

McCann's father, who traveled to Raleigh on Sunday, said police told him, however, that a crowd of others in the lot had beaten the driver, and his son and Harman had come to the driver's aid.

"They're not the type of kids who would start anything," Dennis McCann said. "They were doing the right thing. Kevin and Brett were trying to help out."

The driver, who appeared to be drunk, cursed and vowed revenge, Smith said. He later returned with a gun, asked Smith where the two men who beat him were, and then confronted McCann and Harman, Smith said.

Witness Jason Seaton, 32, said he saw a puff of smoke and heard what he thought were bottle rockets.

Seaton said he found the two victims on the ground and used two of his shirts to try to stop the bleeding. But it was too late for one of them.

''I saw him gasp three times, and he was dead,'' Seaton said.

Tony Harrell Johnson, 20, and Timothy Wayne Johnson, 22, both of Raleigh, were charged with first-degree murder Sunday, said Wake County sheriff's spokeswoman Phyllis Stephens, who declined to discuss the details of the shootings.

Both nationally ranked

McCann and Harman wrestled for the same youth team but went on to different high schools -- Harman to Maine South in Park Ridge, McCann to Notre Dame High in Niles. By the time they graduated in 1999, both were nationally ranked and had competed in several state and international wrestling competitions.

Friends described Harman as a radiant, gregarious man who charmed everyone he met.

"I expected him to be the next John McCain," said Harman's stepfather, Terry Tighe. "Everybody liked this guy."

Popovic said her boyfriend, who went to the U.S. Naval Academy on a full scholarship, was also highly motivated and reliable, one of the reasons he was chosen to lead a platoon in Iraq. "This is such a loss for the world," she said. "He was an exceptional human being."

Many of the same words were used to describe McCann, an account representative at a Chicago financial firm who graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a business degree in 2003.

"He was the kind of player everyone wanted on their team," said his former football coach at Notre Dame, Mike Hennessey. "He wasn't the biggest guy on the field, but he played with the most heart. That's why he did so well."

McCann was also an honor student who often did community service outside of school, he said.

Notre Dame wrestling coach Augie Genovesi said it was inevitable that McCann and Harman became such close friends, considering their older brothers, Rob Harman and Terry McCann, are also best friends.

"It's like a nightmare," Genovesi said. "I haven't cried this much in my life."

This is such a tragic situation. Whoever would have thought that innocent tailgating could turn deadly? I was out of town this weekend and did not attend the game, but I know people who were close by when it happened. My thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the two men who died.
Wrigley, where is that article from? I am glad you posted it. I was wondering what the background of the victims was. All the stories here in Raleigh have mainly focused on the background of the killers because one was a student and they were from this area.
Here are a few other articles for those who are interested:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/sto...-7812804c.html
http://www.technicianonline.com/story.php?id=009957
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/sto...-7816941c.html

The article came from the Chicago Sun-Times website. The latest news I've read about is that a teenage girl was arrested for alegedly hiding the killers in a hotel room after the incident.

Thanks for posting the websites KellyB there wasn't much said about the background on the killers in the stories I've read.

Yes I believe one of the articles said the 18 year old woman is being held on $100,000 bail and is being charged with being an accessory after the fact or something like that (I'm not good with legal terms). Allegedly she helped the younger brother secure a hotel room before he turend himself in. I guess you can't know for sure how you would react in a situation until you are put in it, but I can't imagine why she would help this guy. I assume she knew he was running from the law.

Here is the latest article from the local news, which contains pictures of the three suspects and the two victims.
The girl suspect's father is quoted in the article as saying she did not know the guy she was helping was wanted for murder. She thought he was running from people who were trying to hurt him.
The guys are scheduled to appear in court at 2 pm today.

http://www.wral.com/news/3709809/detail.html

I'm trying to understand why she is being charged with something she did that had nothing to do with the shooting itself.Or did she? :(
Would she still have been charge if she taken him back to her dorm room, or apartment instead of a hotel room? Is her bail amount a bit high?

she didn't know that her boyfriend had just murdered two men. he evidently told her that some guys were coming after him, so he wanted to get somewhere they couldn't find him. she thought she was just trying to help him by helping him to check into a hotel. her bail is $100,000.

Her name is Mudd.

The two shooting suspects were denied bond yesterday at their court hearing. http://www.wral.com/news/3710754/detail.html

A fourth suspect has now been arrested and is also charged with accessory after the fact of murder. She is accused of helping the actual shooter. She is also being held on $100,000 bail. http://www.wral.com/news/3713307/detail.html

Article from the Chicago Sun Times

Accused N.C. brothers will face death if convicted

September 8, 2004

BY CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporter

Two brothers accused of killing two friends from the Chicago area on Saturday in North Carolina will face the death penalty if convicted.

Tony H. Johnson, 20, and Timothy W. Johnson, 22, were ordered held without bond in Wake County District Court on Tuesday for the murders of Kevin M. McCann of Chicago and Brett J. Harman of Park Ridge, which prosecutors said is now a death-penalty case. McCann and Harman, both 23 and friends since boyhood, were shot while tailgating outside a North Carolina State football game in Raleigh. Harman was a Marine officer based at nearby Camp Lejeune.

Besides the court appearance, Harman's family stepped forward with details about what police told them on Sunday about the shootings. Contrary to a witness quoted in news reports, McCann and Harman did not pull one of the Johnson brothers out of a car and beat him, said Harman's older brother, Rob Harman, 28. His recollection was backed up by a friend who is a Chicago Police officer who talked to investigators with him.

"One of the Johnson brothers was driving recklessly. A group of people stopped his car after he hit another car and tried to leave," Rob Harman said. "My brother and Kevin came to his aid, calming the crowd and helping Johnson to leave."

Rob Harman also provided details about what happened when the Johnsons allegedly came back.

"One of the brothers broke a bottle and tried to attack Kevin. Brett intervened, was cut across the face and tackled one of the Johnsons," he said. "The other brother shot Brett in the neck from close range. Kevin ... attempted to tackle the shooter and was shot in the head."

The Wake County sheriff told the Associated Press on Tuesday a weapon matching the description of the gun in the shooting was found in a lake. In court, Judge Shelley Desvousges made sure each Johnson had a court-appointed lawyer. The Johnsons did not enter pleas.