Auburn Tigers running back Brian Battie was injured in a shooting early on Saturday morning. Brian Stultz from Rivals’ Auburn site was one of the first to report. The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Department confirms Battie was among the victims of the shooting. Battie’s status was later confirmed by Auburn team representatives. As of the publish time of this article, he is listed in critical condition. One person is dead from the shooting and there is an unconfirmed number of other victims. All of the victims, including Battie, are being treated at various hospitals and their locations are currently undisclosed. According to WFLA’s Nathaniel Rodriguez, the sheriff’s office said the shooting occurred at 3:30 a.m. It happened in the 3400 block of 17th Street. In the report, authorities believe the shooting was an isolated incident. No motive has been reported and as of publish time there is no suspect in custody.
Auburn Running Back Brian Battie Injured in Shooting
Brian Battie at Auburn
Battie arrived at Auburn last season after transferring from South Florida. He spent his first three seasons with the Bulls and rushed for 1,186 yards in 2022. He reached the endzone eight times and averaged 6.7 yards per rush. Battie’s rushing yards total ranked in the top five of the American Athletic Conference. That was impressive with South Florida only winning one game that season.
He was a tremendous kick returner for the Bulls gaining over 600 yards in 2021 and 2022. In 2021 he returned three kicks for touchdowns. One of those was for 100 yards.
In his first year at Auburn, he shared time with Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston. The team totaled 2,457 yards. He rushed for 227 yards and one touchdown in 2023 that saw Auburn finish fourth in the SEC. Battie did flirt with the transfer portal but decided to stay with the Tigers. With Battie returning along with Hunter, Alson, and an emerging Jeremiah Cobb, Auburn on paper has one of the best running back rooms in the SEC.
Battie is originally from Sarasota, Florida. Last Word on College Football will update the story as further details become available.
