Alabama A&M mourns the loss of recent graduate and former cheerleader

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Police say Chi McDade was shot and killed Tuesday night by her ex-boyfriend, 19-year-old Antonio Burks.

Her death rocked the Alabama A&M community to the core, especially those in her cheerleader circle.

“She was kind-hearted, she was always willing to give, and she had a smile to die for.”

As a former cheer advisor, Dr. Tammy Alexander worked with McDade when she first arrived on campus. When she wasn’t tumbling or forming pyramids, they would always talk about the bigger things in life.

“We have real conversations about a lot of different things so that it’s not just one dimensional and one of those things that I know now will be our platform sharing with our cheerleaders is domestic violence,” Alexander continued.

Dr. Alexander said there were never any signs of McDade having any domestic violence issues prior to her tragic death.

“One of the coaches, I talked with her a couple of times since this happened and even though she graduated in May, they still have a relationship and so she would talk to her,” said Alexander. “The things they couldn’t tell me or the things they did not want me to know. There was no evidence that she was involved in this kind of situation so it was a shock to us.”

Burks is facing a murder charge and is booked into the Limestone County jail without bond.