A 16-year-old New Jersey resident was fatally shot by two masked men while leaving his high school on Tuesday.
According to People, Letrell Duncan, a basketball standout at East Orange Campus High School, was found just after 3 p.m. with multiple wounds. Duncan was rushed to University Hospital in Newark, where he was pronounced dead.
The New York Times reported that Duncan left school and was walking with friends when the
two men approached the group. The high schoolers exchanged words with the men but the groups ended up walking away from each other. Several minutes later, two people wearing ski masks and carrying guns approached the group, and Duncan was shot four times.“I’m not sure what was said,” Marsha Douglas, Duncan’s aunt, told The New York Times.
“Something was said. Letrell brushed it off. He was into school and he was into his basketball—that was it,” she added. “Nothing ELSE. school and basketball.”
The 6’1 Duncan played guard for the high school’s varsity basketball team and was the team captain of his club basketball team, the Garden State Bounce.
“He was an excellent teammate, a great friend and a coach’s ideal player,” officials with Garden State Bounce wrote on Instagram.
“Our floor general, team captain, and the best point guard our program has seen. You’ve set the bar. We are heartbroken.”
Duncan scored 180 points during his freshman year, helping his high school to a 15-9 record. He was hoping to transfer to Roman Catholic High School, according to Douglas.
Community members told The New York Times there has been growing concern about gun violence in the area. Earlier this year a convenience store clerk was shot and killed several blocks away.
“Our young people are hurting—and so am I,” Mayor Ted R. Green said in a statement, according to People.
“This shooting has shaken our community to its core, and collectively, we must come together to prioritize and protect our young people.”
A GoFundMe for the teen’s funeral and memorial service has received almost $25,000 as of 2:25 p.m. Eastern today.
While several children were let out of school in the area at the time of the shooting no one else was injured. The killer is still at large.