Basketball talent Darius Lee was shot dead at a barbecue in New York. The 21-year-old professional was active for the Houston Huskies until the very end. The American could have signed up for the draft in the NBA next year.
Darius Lee was an up-and-coming talent in the basketball scene who had a very good chance of moving to the US NBA. The professional from the Houston Huskies, the team from Houston Baptist University (HBU) in Texas, could have signed up for the draft in the world’s largest basketball league as early as next year. As “TMZ Sports” reports, citing the New York police, he has now died in a shootout. Houston Baptist University, where Lee studied, also confirmed the 21-year-old’s death.
At a barbecue in the Harlem district of New York, Lee was involved in a shootout at 12:40 p.m. local time on Monday. Upon arrival, officers found nine people – seven men and two women – with gunshot wounds. Lee was seriously injured and was taken to a nearby hospital, where a short time later only his death could be determined.
Police reportedly found a gun at the scene. Specific details on the health of the other victims, the course of events and the perpetrator are not yet known.
His basketball team can hardly cope with the fact that Lee’s life was taken so brutally. “We are in shock and cannot believe this news. My heart breaks for his mother, his sister and his entire family and for our basketball team. The only thing that brings us comfort right now is knowing where Darius is. He’s in the arms of Jesus…we know that for a fact,” Lee’s head coach Ron Cottrell wrote in a statement on Twitter. “Not only was he a great basketball player, he was an even better person. I can’t even think about basketball right now. I can only think of what a light Darius was during his short time on earth. It was a pleasure to coach him and we loved him so much.”
