ALEXANDER CITY, Ala. — A man charged with killing an Auburn University football player opened fire because the athlete also was shooting a gun during a party, a defense lawyer said Monday. Markhale Hart, 22, was defending himself when 18-year-old Jakell Mitchell was shot to death in Auburn last month, said Mark Allen Treadwell, an attorney for Hart. "It was absolutely self-defense," he said in an interview after a hearing on Hart's probation status.