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Weeks after being critically injured in a Sarasota County shooting that also killed his brother, Auburn football player Brian Battie’s family says he’s making progress in what will be a long recovery.
SARASOTA, Fla. – Brian Battie, an Auburn running back who used to play football for USF, is progressing after he was shot last month outside of a Sarasota hookah lounge.
Sarasota city commissioner Kyle Battie told FOX 13 that his younger cousin is off a ventilator and breathing on his own. He is also moving his lower extremities and his thumb.
"He’s doing the best he can considering the circumstances, but he’s young, healthy," Kyle Battie stated. "He’s an athlete and, more importantly, he’s a fighter."
CINCINNATI, OH – OCTOBER 08: South Florida Bulls running back Brian Battie (21) carries the ball during the game against the South Florida Bulls and the Cincinnati Bearcats on October 8, 2022, at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati, OH. (Photo by Ian Johns
He added, "There has been movement. Hearing his mother and father’s voice to make a thumbs up. He was able to make a thumbs-up. He was able to move his lower extremities, his legs."
RELATED: Brian Battie could face 'permanent paralysis' prognosis after Sarasota shooting
Brian Battie was critically injured when shots rang out at the Tallywood Centre Plaza located in the 3400 block of 17th Street around 3:30 a.m.
Evidence markers dot the parking lot in front of a Sarasota hookah lounge.
Three others were also injured in the shooting and Brian Battie's brother, 24-year-old Tommie Battie, was killed.
Kyle Battie said, "My prayers go out, and my heart goes out to my family, to Brian and to my little cousin Tommie who lost his life and all the victims of this unfortunate situation and even the gentlemen that caused this and his family. This touches everyone. It touches the whole community. Trust me, everyone is feeling this, and it just has a ripple effect, but the love and support from this community is overwhelming."
One person was killed and four others were injured, including Brain Battie, when shots rang out outside of a Sarasota hookah lounge.
According to a probable cause affidavit, video footage shows bullets flying around 3:29 a.m.
LISTEN: Frantic 911 callers paint chaotic picture from deadly Sarasota shooting
A black man, later identified as Darryl Bernard Brookins, can be seen in surveillance video wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt and gray pants leaning up against the window of the Choice Vacuum business, located at 3444 17th Street.
Courtesy: Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office
The affidavit states that as the video plays, Brian and Tommie Battie are seen walking toward Brookins, who immediately draws a firearm and shoots at the brothers.
According to the affidavit, both Battie brothers returned gunfire. That’s when the video shows Brian Battie falling to the ground. Tommie Battie fell to the ground next to him and died from his injuries.
After the shooting, investigators say Brookins ran away.
Video shows crowds running after shots were fired outside a Sarasota hookah lounge.
He was later arrested and charged with murder and felon in possession of a firearm.
His girlfriend, 29-year-old Nicole Roberts has also been arrested.
According to an affidavit, Roberts drove Brookins away from the scene in a Hyundai Elantra rented under her name and surveillance video shows her throwing a gun into the Manatee River in the hours following the shooting. Investigators later recovered a Glock 9mm handgun from the river.
Roberts faces an accessory charge and is expected back in court on Friday.
Brookins is being held without bond.
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