GA Man Dies In TN Bar Fight

NASHVILLE, TN — An Atlanta man died after an altercation escalated early Sunday morning at a Tennessee bar, local authorities said.

The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. at a 2nd Avenue North bar in Nashville's downtown area and killed Torey Ward, 45, of Atlanta, Metro Nashville (Tennessee) Police said Sunday afternoon. An official cause of death has not been released.

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It was an encounter with Ward's girlfriend and a 37-year-old Nashville man that sparked the dispute, police said.

Ward was inside the bathroom at the time; but when he came out, police said a verbal argument ensued.

Bar staff asked the entire group to leave the business. Police said once they were outside, Ward and the man engaged in a physical dispute.

Witnesses told officers the man punched and held Ward in a chokehold, which "King reported was based off of fear for his own safety," police said.

Ward's girlfriend, who saw Ward hit the man several times in the chest inside the bar, tried to intervene once outside but was injured by an unknown female friend of the man, police said.

Officers say Ward was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died. The Medical Examiner's Office will determine cause of death.

As of Sunday, there were no charges filed in the case.