Minneapolis ? Minnesota football player Brandon Hall was shot to death early Sunday, just a few hours after playing in his first college game.

Hall, a 19-year-old red-shirt freshman who was a reserve defensive lineman, died following a dispute between a group of players that included Hall and three other men near a downtown bar, police said.

“To the best of my knowledge, Brandon Hall was an innocent victim,” said Minnesota coach Glen Mason, who coached at Kansas University from 1988-96.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Hall made one tackle in the Golden Gophers’ 42-0 season-opening victory over Southwest Texas State on Saturday night at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

About 2 a.m., Hall was with some teammates about eight blocks northwest of the stadium when they were contacted by another player who claimed he was robbed by three men, police spokeswoman Cyndi Barrington said. The players found the men and confronted them.

As the players approached, the three men began walking away and got into a parked van, Barrington said. One of the men then got out of the van and walked toward the players.

“At that point, someone in the group said, ‘He’s got a gun! He’s got a gun!’ and they scattered,” Barrington said. “But the suspect was still able to take a shot.”

A handgun was recovered and the three men were arrested, but they had not yet been charged.

Mason canceled Sunday’s practice and said he wasn’t sure when the team would meet again. Athletic Director Joel Maturi said counselors would be available to the players.

“These are all things that none of us have been taught to deal with,” Maturi said.

It’s the third tragedy to strike a Minnesota football team in just over a year. Last summer, Minnesota Vikings offensive tackle Korey Stringer died of heat stroke in training camp. And last week, the wife of Vikings offensive tackle Lewis Kelly died of pregnancy complications.