Former Top Recruit Who Played For UMD Arrested In Fatal Bar Shooting

COLLEGE PARK, MD — A former top football recruit for the University of Maryland has been charged in connection to a shooting during a late night bar fight in Florida.

Avantae Traeviyon Williams, 24, of DeLand, Florida, was arrested without incident for the May 3 shooting death of a bar patron at McCabe's Bar. He has been charged with second-degree murder. According to the DeLand Police Department, there were approximately 40 people inside McCabe's Bar at the time of the shooting, which happened around 1:30 a.m. A fistfight had broken out among several men. One of the men, later identified as Williams, pulled out a gun and started shooting.

Keshod Harris, 32, of DeLand, was hit multiple times in the chest. He was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries. The bartender was shot in both hands but survived, the police department reported.

When Williams was a high school senior, he was ranked as the No. 1 safety in the country for the 2020 recruiting class. University of Maryland’s website listed him as defensive back for the Terps, appearing in 17 games and tallying 17 tackles plus one interception. In high school, he was named a Sports Illustrated All-American and rated a top 50 player nationally by Rivals and 247Sports.

He was not listed on the 2024 and 2025 football rosters for the University of Maryland but according to the Associated Press, he was reportedly dismissed from the University of Miami football team as a second-year freshman following his arrested on three counts of aggravated battery of a pregnant victim, according to Miami-Dade County arrest records. He was booked into an area jail on a $10,000 bond.

According to a police report obtained by The Miami Herald, Williams’ arrest followed an argument with his child’s mother, who was pregnant with his baby. The two had been living together.
After an argument about whether Williams was involved with someone else, Williams left and allegedly told her she should leave. When he returned, she was still there packing belongings, according to the report.

Williams allegedly grabbed the woman by her hair and threw her on a bed and then threw her out of the home, according to the police report. After a neighbor called 911, paramedics took her to a hospital and noted “multiple bruises to her arms,” a minor bruise on her neck and two broken fingernails, the AP reported.