The 40 year-old, who conquered the WBA, IBF and WBC belts at 200 pounds with a career-best victory over Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck in 2006, was the victim of an apparent robbery gone bad.
According to the Atlanta Police Department, Bell was exiting a city bus when he was set upon by two suspects who then shot the ex-fighter and a fellow commuter before leaving the scene.
The second victim, who was not a friend of Bell’s, survived and is being treated at Grady Hospital after being shot in the hip.
It’s a tragic ending for Bell who was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the US to live his own American Dream. ‘SuperNova’ made his debut in 1998 and forged his way to the top over a seven-year period before claiming his first world title in 2005.
Bell hung up his gloves in 2011 with a record of 27-4-1, 25 KO’s, and after enjoying just four years of his retirement, is another terrible statistic of gun crime in the US.
Atlanta Police have since released video of a car they believe to have been involved in the incident and released a photo of a person seen exiting the vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477).
