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.
Police responded to reports of shots fired at approximately 12:36 a.m. at East 139th St. and Fifth Ave in Manhattan, according to the New York Police Department. Nine people in total were shot, police said.
All were transported to area hospitals, where Lee was pronounced dead.
A gun was recovered at the scene. Police were unable to provide further details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting, and no arrests had been made. The investigation is ongoing.
Lee played for Houston Baptist University, which said in a statement that he had been killed at a gathering 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 mom, his family, his teammates, his friends and his entire HBU family,” head men’s basketball coach Ron Cottrell said in a statement.
“We are in shock and cannot wrap our heads around this news. My heart breaks for his mom, his sister and his entire family, and for our basketball team.”
“As great of a basketball player as he was, he was an even better person. I can’t even think of basketball right now. I can only think of what a light Darius was during his short time on earth. He was a joy to coach and we loved him so 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 director of athletics, Steve Moniaci, said in a statement that Lee was “a very fine young man who had a very bright future in front of him both on and off the court.”
“This is unfortunately, yet again, another example of the senseless gun violence that seems to be plaguing our country right now and we all pray it will cease,” he said.