LINK PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Five Duquesne basketball players, all but one of them new players who enrolled only this month, were shot early Sunday morning during an apparent act of random violence on campus. Two players were in critical condition at a hospital. Pittsburgh police were searching for a man believed to have done the shootings, and were investigating whether anyone else was involved. The shootings occurred about 2:15 a.m. as several players were returning from an on-campus party at the student union and others were sitting on benches outside Vickroy Hall, the dormitory where the shootings took place. The players most badly injured were 6-foot-7 forward Sam Ashaolu, a transfer from Lake Region State College and a cousin of former Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon, and Stuard Baldonado, a 6-7 transfer from Miami Dade College who was considered the Dukes' best recruit. Ashaolu is from Toronto, and his parents were traveling to Pittsburgh on Sunday to be with their son. Treated and released from Mercy Hospital were 6-10 Shawn James, the nation's leading shot blocker last season at Northeastern University before transferring to Duquesne; Kojo Mensah, a guard who averaged nearly 17 points last season at Siena before transferring, and Aaron Jackson, a guard who is one of only two returning players from Duquesne's 3-24 team of last season. New Duquesne coach Ron Everhart, formerly at Northeastern, had rebuilt the Duquesne program almost from scratch after being hired in March by bringing in 10 new recruits -- one of the most sweeping upheavals of any Division I program in recent years. According to police, two players were returning from a social function on campus when they encountered a man who apparently had been disruptive at the party. After the players tried to calm down the man, the players began walking away, only to be shot. Several other players who were nearby rushed to their aid, also to be shot. James, expected to be Duquesne's top player when he becomes eligible in the 2007-08 season and an NBA prospect, was shot in the foot but no bones were broken. Mensah was believed to have been shot in the shoulder. Jackson was shot in the hand. The shooter was not a Duquesne student, police said. Duquesne is located in downtown Pittsburgh. "First and foremost, we are concerned about our students and are praying that each of them has a full recovery," Duquesne spokeswoman Bridget Fare said in a statement. "We will offer support and services to the victims and their families, as well as to our other students who may have been affected by this tragic incident. This type of situation has never occurred before on Duquesne's campus. The university is cooperating fully with the ongoing investigation." Several students who were distraught after witnessing the shootings were being counseled Sunday.
oh ****. I didnt know he was hakeems cousin. I believe he has a younger brother olu ashaolu who is playing hs ball in atlanta, he is supposed to be a legit baller, one of the best young ballers to come out of canada in ages is what i've heard. I hope for the best for the injured players.
I'm an undegrad at Duquesne and needless to say this is a shocker and tremendous blow to an otherwise safe and peaceful community. Please keep Sam and the other four victims in your thoughts and prayers.
lets not forget that some lunatic went shooting people in Montreal. These anti-social 'Columbine' idiots need to get kicked out of school. there has to be some pyschological test before you let losers into college. Hope these dudes get better.
thats why we dont use guns in Aus. Getting our asses squeezed by some 300+ pound muscle man in a gay bar is not cool. Anyways what i heard from the chinese basketball website, isn't this from duke?
They said the shooter was not a student. Anyway, how do you get shot in the foot and not have any bones broken? There are something like 300 bones in there, and he missed them all?
For once I agree with you. and what the hell is a "random" act of violence anyway? People use this statement but I still don't understand how you can call it that.
GUN CONTROL PLEASE !! Can we get some sensible leadership in this country...for ONCE? DD crazy people that want a gun will get a gun no matter what controls are in place. this has more to do with a guy with mental issues than gun control.
I dont know but that seems completly out of line in the current situation..... My prayers go out to the victims and their families
Possibly, but maybe people that are MAD would not have such easy access at that exact moment. And there are many countries that have years of data that have much lower murder rates because they don't have access to guns. DD
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/ncaa/09/19/duquense.arrest.ap/index.html?cnn=yes I think it would be fairly obvious that when six knowingly armed kids enter a school dance that perhaps guns are too readily available. Add to that a football player passed out in the back seat with one in his lap, etc and you have to think that this is becoming a cultural norm to carry a lethal weapon with you on drunken excursions. Ahh, for the days when the most dangerous weapon in the car might be a bong and no-one wants to use it because they are afraid to spill the water.
Sad but true, but where i grew up and right around the corner from where i live I HAVE to have a pistol on me when i go over there its sad but true but thats besides the point... My point is WHY! Why the hell do guys get mad when their "girl" talks to other dudes, not to downtalk all women but to me women fall under 5 categories... Bull-dykes, Freaks, Mama, Relatives (sister, aunts, cousins), and then Ladies. And to be honest theres not enough of the last one in that list, for a guy to get mad over a female talking to another guy and wanting to get mad at the guy is stupid charge your female up! And to think someone might die *prays to god nobody does* over some dimwitted idiot and his 2-bit-good-for-nothing-footdragging-girlfriend. Just like i tell my little brothers if a female is asking you to do something out of the ordinary or she is making you angry with something she's done just remember the root word of Evil is Eve the first woman god made, and that pretty much explains itself.
