Darius Lee, a 21-year-old college basketball player, was killed in a mass shooting in New York City in the early hours of Monday morning.
All were transported to hospitals in the area, where Lee was pronounced dead.
A rifle was found at the scene. Police could not provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and no one has been arrested yet. The investigation continues.
Lee played for Houston Baptist University, which said in a statement that he was killed at a rally in his hometown of Harlem. He was on course to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in December and was recently named HBU Robbie Robertson Male Student Athlete of the Year.
“We are devastated. “Darius was a remarkable young man who loved the Lord, his mother, his family, his teammates, his friends and his entire HBU family,” Chief Basketball Officer Ron Cottrell said in a statement.
“We are shocked and can not turn our heads around this news. My heart breaks for his mother, his sister and his whole family, and for our basketball team. ”
“As big of a basketball player as he was, he was an even better person. I can not even think of basketball. I can only imagine what light Darius was during his short time on earth. He was a pleasure to coach and we loved him so much. ”
Lee was a second-team All-Southland Conference selection for the 2021-2022 season, led the HBU Huskies in scoring and setbacks, and was sixth in the country in theft per game, HBU said.
The university’s director of athletics, Steve Moniaci, said in a statement that Lee is “a very good young man who had a very bright future ahead of him, both on and off the track.”
“Unfortunately, this is yet another example of the senseless firearm violence that is apparently currently plaguing our country and we all pray that it will stop,” he said.
