College basketball star, 21, killed in Manhattan mass shooting
Darius Lee, a 21-year-old college basketball player, was killed in the early hours of Monday morning in a mass shooting in New York City.
All were transported to area hospitals, where Lee was pronounced dead.
A weapon was recovered at the scene. Police were unable to provide further details about the circumstances surrounding the shooting and no arrests have been made. The investigation is ongoing.
Lee played for Houston Baptist University, which said in a statement who had been murdered at a meeting in his hometown of Harlem. He 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.
“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,” said Men’s Basketball Head Coach Ron Cottrell, it’s a statement.
“We are in shock and cannot understand this news. My heart breaks for his mother, his sister and his entire family, and for our basketball team.”
“As great a basketball player as he was, he was an even better person. I can’t even think about basketball right now. I can only think of how light Darius was during his short time on earth. It was a pleasure training him and we loved him very much.”
Lee was a second-team All-Southland Conference selection for the 2021-22 season, led the HBU Huskies in scoring and rebounding, and was sixth in the nation in steals per game, HBU said.
The university’s athletic director, Steve Moniaci, said in a statement that Lee was “a very good young man who had a very bright future ahead of him both on and off the court.”
“Unfortunately, this is yet again another example of the senseless gun violence that seems to be plaguing our country right now and we are all praying for it to stop,” he said.
