Shavez Hart on Saturday was shot and killed outside a nighclub in Mount Hope, North Abaco, Royal Bahamas Police said. The Olympic sprinter was 29 years old. 

The former Texas A&M star was allegedly trying to break up a fight. Mount Hope is about 120 miles north of Nassau. The incident took place around 2 AM local time, the police said. 

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Police report states that a group of males got into a physical altercation in the parking lot. One of them left and returned with a gun. He opened fire and hit Hart in the chest. 

Hart was taken to the Marsh Harbour Clinic where he was pronounced dead. 

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The Bahamas Olympic Committee in a statement said that Hart was a proud native of Abaco. 

“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,” Bahamas Olympic Committee said. 

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Hart was the third fastest Bahamian sprinter of all time in the 100m dash. He won the silver medal in the 4x400m relay in the 2016 Indoor World Championship. The 29-year-old was a Texas A&M star. He won several competitions, including the gold in the 4x400m relay at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championship and the 100m at the 2015 SEC Outdoor Championship.

The sprinter’s mother told the Nassau Guardian her son was caught in the middle of the fight.

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“He was such a good son – very quiet and always helpful. He did a lot of work in the community and was always trying to give back. I will certainly miss him,” she said. 

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The country’s Prime Minister Philip Brave Davies paid his condolences in a tweet: “On behalf of my family and the people of The Bahamas, I extend my heartfelt condolences to the family of Shavez Hart. As a country, we’ve been blessed to have had an amazing athlete carry our flag worldwide.”