16-Year-Old New Jersey basketball standout, Letrell Duncan, was fatally shot near his high school, and the killer is still on the loose.
According to The New York Times, Letrell was shot after two ski mask-wearing individuals toting a gun confronted his group of friends on a sidewalk in East Orange–just two blocks away from his school, East Orange Campus High School. He was reportedly shot four times and later died at University Hospital in Newark., an Essex County law enforcement official announced.
The shooting occurred on Lincoln Street after Letrell and his friends had a disagreement with two other young men following a normal day on campus. At the time, students from a nearby middle school had been dismissed for the day as well, leaving the sidewalks very crowded. Local police reportedly obtained surveillance video of the street from a popular corner store near the fatal incident.
The teen’s aunt, Marsha Douglas, reportedly heard a recollection of the tragic incident from one of her nephew’s friends.
“I’m not sure what was said. Something was said. Letrell brushed it off,” Marsha said. “He was into school, and he was into his basketball. That was it,” she added. “Nothing else. School and basketball.”
The young athlete was reportedly a sophomore at East Orange Campus High School and played guard on its varsity basketball team, wearing the number 21. He was also the captain of his club hoops team, Garden State Bounce. At 6-foot-1, he scored 180 points as a freshman and helped the high school team to a 15-9 record.
“He was an excellent teammate, a great friend, and a coach’s ideal player. Our floor general, team captain and the best point guard our program has seen. You’ve set the bar. We are heartbroken,” Garden State Bounce officials wrote on Instagram.
The star hooper reportedly had hopes of transferring to a nearby Roman Catholic high school to continue playing basketball, his aunt said.
Marquise Kindel, a former East Orange basketball player, joined a group of residents to pay respects to Letrell on Oct. 4.
“He was a great kid, was always laughing and smiling,” Marquise, 23, said.
That day, grief counselors were sent to the 1,660-student campus to aid students morning the slain athlete.
“He was a loved student. We’re just really saddened,” the district’s lawyer Khalifah Shabazz said.
Letrell’s family launched a GoFundMe to assist with the New Jersey native’s funeral needs on Oct. 4.
Authorities are still actively searching for his killer.
