'Put them all in an arena and let 'em kill the hell out of each other': Seething sheriff's brutal 'wish' for teen gangbangers
Mobile County Sheriff Paul Burch may have just read the minds of the majority of citizens in his home state of Alabama who've had it with teen gang violence.
A 2-year-old boy was shot in the face while he was in bed at St. Stephens Woods Apartments in Prichard around 1 a.m. Wednesday, WKRG-TV reported.
'And a message to the gang members is, "I dare you to pull a gun on one of my guys. Could be the last thing you do."'
Sheriff Burch told the station he believes it was a gang-related drive-by shooting.
“They’re just gutless punks who fired from outside the residence into a bedroom window,” Burch said, according to WKRG. “So you know, there was no forced entry or attempt to enter the apartment.”
Burch also believes the victim's teenage brother, "who’s involved in gang activity," may have been the intended target, the station reported.
What's more, Burch told WKRG that a shooting took place a few hours later — and it was just “a stone’s throw away."
“We don’t know if it’s related or not. But you know, I don’t believe in coincidences. So we believe that this shooting was gang-related and was in retaliation for a shooting on Vestavia Street on June 1 with some other gang members, and there’s been some back and forth,” the sheriff told the station. “After the shooting at 1 a.m. this morning, there was a shooting on Vestavia Street around 4 a.m.”
The sheriff threw down at the violent gangbangers, telling WKRG that "this is going to be a priority for our special operations division. And a message to the gang members is, ‘I dare you to pull a gun on one of my guys. Could be the last thing you do.'"
RELATED: Alabama mom arrested after 2 kilograms of cocaine are found in 3-year-old's backpack, police say
Burch also expressed a "wish" for them — and one that would "solve" the heartache gangs bring to the county.
“It’s teenagers, it’s gangs," the sheriff told WKRG. "And frankly, I wish we could put them all in an arena and let 'em kill the hell out of each other 'cause that would solve the problem."
The 2-year-old boy has had surgery, Burch added to the station, which reported that his condition is unknown, and there have been no arrests thus far.
The sheriff’s office said those with information about the shootings should call 251-574-8633.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Another coach in the Senate? Auburn basketball's Bruce Pearl rumored as Tommy Tuberville's replacement
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) announced he is running for governor of Alabama, soon vacating a seat and prompting a potentially competitive Republican primary.
Tuberville was a successful college football coach at Auburn, Cincinnati, and more. Now, discussions are reportedly already under way to find his replacement, with another NCAA coach rumored to be the favored candidate for a 2026 special primary.
'The compensation is a little bit different.'
According to a report from Semafor, Auburn men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl has plans to run for the vacant seat and was on Capitol Hill discussing those plans last week.
The most obvious factor that could stop Pearl from running is his lucrative contract that is supposed to keep him at Auburn through 2030. According to On3, Pearl signed a contract extension in 2022 worth $6.28 million per year, totaling over $50 million.
At the same time, Tuberville told the media he does not want Pearl to run and does not think he will.
RELATED: GOP saboteurs join Democrats to derail Trump’s justice agenda
"The compensation is a little bit different," Tuberville told Semafor. "I wouldn't let [Pearl] do it because he did such a good job at Auburn. We need him there."
The basketball coach has an incredibly political social media timeline; his X feed is filled with shared posts that are pro-Israel and critical of Iran.
"Enriched Uranium is for a weapon, not power," Pearl wrote. "Iran says it will not give up its ability to enrich uranium against US demands. For Iran, it is a matter of national honor and part of their identity. If Iran had it, they would use it! Dismantle it now 4peace or Israel needs to do it."
RELATED: 'This will absolutely kill college sports': Dartmouth men's basketball ends bid to become first NCAA player's union— (@)
Pearl has been successful at Auburn since joining as head coach in 2014. He brought the basketball team its first conference championship in 19 years in 2018, with two more in 2022 and 2025. The 65-year-old is also responsible for Auburn's only two NCAA Final Four appearances: in 2019 and 2025.
In 2011, Pearl, then the head coach at the University of Tennessee, was accused of lying to the NCAA about an unofficial visit from an athlete attending a cookout at his home. Pearl was alleged to have told the athlete and his father not to mention it.
Coach Pearl did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Trump reportedly considering NCAA payment limits through executive order following meeting with coach Nick Saban
The president has told his team to start looking into writing an executive order to limit the amount of money in college sports, a new report has claimed.
President Donald Trump met with legendary college football coach Nick Saban last Thursday when the president was in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to give a commencement speech at the University of Alabama.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Saban spoke to the president about "NIL" deals and told him he thought the influx of money into college sports has been damaging.
Trump reportedly agreed with Saban and said he would have his aides begin to study what a potential executive order could look like.
Furthermore, Saban's suggestions allegedly did not include ending NIL payments, but "reforming" them, according to a person who was said to have direct knowledge of the meeting. Saban reportedly suggested the NIL payments were causing an uneven playing field and have resulted in an arms race among the bigger schools.
This echoed Saban's comments from January, when he claimed on a radio show that the NIL "model is unsustainable."
'There's some parity. Now that everybody can pay their players.'
It should be noted that Saban has been widely criticized for hoarding talent when he coached in Alabama and that name, image, and likeness rules have since leveled the playing field so that players at other schools can still receive compensation.
Even comedian Shane Gillis, a staunch Notre Dame supporter, said in January that Saban was sensitive to criticisms that he is upset that other schools can now pay their players.
"This feels different. Feels like we can win it. You know? There's some parity. Now that everybody can pay their players, Notre Dame has a shot. It's not just the SEC. It's not Coach Saban," Gillis said at the time.
The comedian revealed weeks later that Saban did not care for the comments when they both appeared on an episode of "ESPN's College GameDay."
Gillis said Saban exploded when he approached him, saying, "You think the SEC dominated because we cheated?! That's bulls**t!"
"He spazzed on me," Gillis laughed.
The NCAA declined to comment to the Wall Street Journal regarding a potential executive order. However, the outlet cited NCAA spokesman Tim Buckley, who said the governing body was confronting some of the challenges facing college sports.
The vast majority of the NCAA's money does not come from college football, though. As Blaze News reported, over 85% of the NCAA's revenue comes from college basketball's March Madness tournament. However, college football has some of the country's biggest young stars, who now generate impressive revenue streams for themselves through endorsements.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
www.theblaze.com
thefederalist.com