Argument over Aretha Franklin leads to shooting, witness says
A witness to a shooting in Virginia says an argument over who played, or would play, Aretha Franklin in a movie about her life led to shots being fired.
Police in Suffolk, Virginia, responded to the shooting scene Thursday morning, according to . A witness told the station he heard two people in a nearby barbershop arguing over whether Oscar-winner Halle Berry portrayed the Queen of Soul in a biopic.
The fight then reportedly spilled onto the street and turned physical. One of the men involved in the fight produced a firearm and shot the other man at least once. The station reports witnesses in another business heard someone say 鈥淣o, no no鈥� before hearing at least four gunshots.
Both men were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment. WTKR reports the gunshot victim鈥檚 brother said that he was in serious condition.
Franklin, who died Thursday morning at the age of 76, had publicly supported Berry to portray her in a film about her life. Berry reportedly claimed her own lack of singing ability would not do Franklin justice and turned down the offer. E! News reports that Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson will instead portray the Queen of Soul on the big screen.