A Centre man told investigators he fired a random shot after an altercation with three others at an open house party outside Attalla early Sunday morning that resulted in the death of a Gadsden man.

The shot went through the leg of a 21-year-old Crossville woman, Etowah County Sheriff Jonathon Horton said, and then into Kalab Blake Whitworth’s chest. He said Whitworth was an innocent bystander, struck by a recklessly fired shot.

Darren Isaiah Higgins, 24, is charged with murder. He’s being held in the Etowah County Detention Center on $250,000 surety bond.

Horton said information from the public and images on social media played a role making the arrest. Investigators found a broken necklace or necklaces at 525 Country Road, where the party and shooting occurred, he said.

The chains were found near where the scuffle happened and the shot was fired, Horton said, but investigators didn’t know their relevance until images emerged of the suspect wearing those chains, with a gun matching the description of the suspected murder weapon.

“It appears Kalab Whitworth was an innocent bystander,” Horton said.

After identifying Higgins, investigators picked him up at his job in Crossville. He had an outstanding marijuana possession warrant through Cherokee County, so he was taken to the sheriff’s office there and questioned by Etowah County investigators.

By his own confession, Horton said, Higgins fired the shot that killed Whitworth, who was a complete stranger to him.

“There was a fight between the suspect and three males. The scuffle led to his chains being ripped off, and his weapon fell to the floor,” the sheriff said, from the waistband of his pants.

“He picked it up and fired a round,” Horton said. Unfortunately, that round struck the woman, who was treated and released for her injury, then struck Whitworth. Friends rushed him to a local hospital and he was transported to a Birmingham hospital, where he died in surgery, Horton said.

The sheriff and other officials expressed their sympathies to Whitworth’s family.

At the time of his death, Whitworth was awaiting trial for the murder of 18-year-old Aaron Joe "A.J." Huff, a Gadsden teen shot to death in January 2018. Five people were arrested in the days after Huff's death, accused of setting up a drug deal with Huff, with the intention of robbing him.

In addition to Whitworth, Jessie James Altman Jr., Tyler Michael Abbott, Broderick Lawrence Pearson were arrested and later indicted on a charge of felony murder; Lonterrry Orlando Harrison Jr. was indicted on a capital murder charge. Investigators say Harrison is the one who approached the van Huff was in and fired into the vehicle. He was rushed to a hospital but died.

District Attorney Jody Willoughby said that fact that Whitworth had spent time in the ECDC, and that he was charged himself in the murder of a local teen, didn’t deter investigators from pursuing his killer.

He thanked Capt. Robin Grant, Chief Investigator Darron Walker and DA’s office investigator Khris Yancey for their tireless efforts throughout the weekend and early part of the week.

“I think this is a very important investigation for the community to know about,” Willoughby said. “Kalab Whitworth was being prosecuted by our office for murder.

“I think it speaks volumes to the dedication of law enforcement officers in this community,” he said, and that what Whitworth was accused of doing in the past didn’t matter to the people investigating his death.

“It didn’t matter who the victim was,” Willoughby said, adding that it won’t matter in the further pursuit of justice in the case.

“We’ll prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law,” he said.