Preschoolers’ fight leads to shooting

Published 8:28 pm Tuesday, April 19, 2011

A weekend argument between two preschoolers escalated Monday into a confrontation between adults — and a shooting that left one man injured, Atmore Police officials said.

Anthony McCants, 27, was listed in stable condition Tuesday after being shot in the back in the parking lot of a Bragg Street apartment complex Monday morning, APD officials said.

Francis Tyrone Blount, 32, was arrested by APD officers and was charged first-degree assault in connection with the incident.

According to reports from Atmore Police, the incident took place around 7:30 a.m. Monday in a parking lot at the apartment complex when several people gathered in the area.

Witnesses told officers responding to the call that the mothers of the pre-schoolers got into a physical altercation as they walked their children to the school bus stop Monday morning.

Following the altercation between the two women, a large crowd armed with baseball bats gathered in one of the parking lots and a fight began, officials said.

During the fight, witnesses said, Blount reportedly pulled a handgun and shot McCants, according to police.

McCants was transported to Atmore Community Hospital by a family member following the shooting. He was later transported by Lifeflight to an out-of-town hospital where he remained in stable condition, according to Atmore Police.