Olympic sprinter shot dead during parking lot fight

Olympic sprinter Shavez Hart was tragically shot and killed outside a Bahamas night club after allegedly trying to break up a fight. The former Texas A&M track star was just days away from his 30th birthday when the incident occurred in the night club's parking lot.

The Royal Bahamas Police reported that the shooting took place at around 2 a.m. on Saturday in Mount Hope, North Abaco. The report said that a group of males got into an altercation. One of them left the scene, returned with a gun and opened fire.

Hart, who intervened to end the altercation, was hit in the chest. The Olympian was rushed to the Marsh Harbour Clinic where he was pronounced dead. The investigation remains ongoing as of Tuesday morning, but an arrest has been made in connection to the case, per TMZ Sports.

The Bahamas Olympic Committee issued a statement condoling Hart's passing. "The Olympic family is saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Shavez Hart, a proud native of Abaco. He was always very humble, yet proud and determined to offer the very best of himself for the sake of country," the statement read.

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, Philip Brave Davis, addressed the shooting on social media. The head of the island nation extended his condolences on behalf of the entire nation to the entire Hart family, while also praising the Olympic sprinter.

Hart's friend's and former coach at Texas A&M, Pat Henry, also paid tribute after getting news of the athlete's sudden death. He was the first to react and admitted he was heartbroken over the loss of the sprinter.

"This is so tragic. Shavez Hart was of course one of our finest athletes ever, but he was one of the kindest people I have met, and such a soft-spoken man," Henry said via a statement. "Words can't describe the loss that the Aggie track & field family is feeling. My thoughts and prayers are with his family."

Hart was an eight-time Bahamas national sprint champion. In 2016, Hart represented the Bahamas in Rio, Brazil, at the Olympic Games. Also that year, he won the silver medal at the World Indoor Championship in the 4x400 relay competition.