'Remarkable' Houston Baptist University basketball star fatally shot in NYC, leaving his community 'devastated,' coach says
Houston Baptist University/Juan DeLeon Creative
- A basketball star for Texas' Houston Baptist University was killed in a shooting in New York City.
- Darius Lee, a guard and forward for the Houston Baptist Huskies, was shot on Monday.
- Eight others were also shot and wounded during the incident, according to police.
A college basketball star for Texas' Houston Baptist University was killed early Monday in a shooting that also wounded eight others in New York City, police said.
Darius Lee, 21, a guard and forward for the Houston Baptist Huskies, was fatally shot during a gathering at about 12:40 a.m. on East 139th Street and 5th Avenue in his hometown of Harlem, according to the New York City Police Department.
"We are devastated," Huskies head coach Ron Cottrell said in a statement. "Darius was a remarkable young man who loved the Lord, his mom, his family, his teammates, his friends, and his entire HBU family."
Emergency responders rushed Lee to an area hospital where he died, the police said. Six other men and two women were also shot and injured during the incident, authorities said. Monday's incident in New York City was the 277th mass shooting in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
No arrests have been made and a motive for the deadly shooting was not immediately clear. Police said they recovered a gun at the scene.
Lee was on track to graduate with his bachelor's degree in December and was recently named HBU Robbie Robertson male student-athlete of the year, according to the college.
"As great of a basketball player as he was, he was an even better person," Cottrell said in his statement. "I can only think of what a light Darius was during his short time on earth," Cottrell said.
The college said that Lee led the Huskies in scoring and rebounding and was sixth in the nation in steals per game.
HBU Director of Athletics Steve Moniaci called the shooting "another example of the senseless gun violence that seems to be plaguing our country right now and we all pray it will cease."
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters during a press conference that the "emboldened individuals responsible" for the shooting "are exactly who our officers are battling every day to make our city safe."
"While we are making some headway against violence we have a lot of work to do, but we need help alongside the entire criminal justice system," said Sewell as she called on the public to come forward with any information on the shooting.