Posted Tuesday November 7
Miami Hurricanes Lineman Shot to Death
MIAMI,FL -- University of Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot and killed Tuesday night, shortly after practice, school officials said. He was 22.
The shooting occurred at the apartment complex where Pata lived, about 4 miles from campus. His death was ruled a homicide, Miami-Dade police spokesman Roy Rutland said.
"Right now, we're just gathering ourselves and just trying to pull ourselves together," Miami athletic director Paul Dee said.
Rutland said police were called at 7:30 p.m. to the scene and found Pata's body in the parking lot. A senior who grew up in Miami, Pata was pronounced dead at the scene.
The circumstances around Pata's death were not immediately clear, and Miami-Dade police did not say who made the 911 call after the shooting.
"They just shot him dead," Tonya Casimir, who identified herself as the player's cousin, told ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach by phone from the one of one of Pata's family members. "He's gone."
The 6-foot-4, 280-pound lineman was in his fourth year with the Hurricanes. He appeared in 41 games, making 23 starts, and was expected to be a first- or second-round pick in next spring's NFL draft.
It was at least the fourth time that tragedy involving a player has struck the Hurricanes in recent years.
In April 1996, reserve linebacker and Miami native Marlin Barnes was murdered in a campus apartment. And in 2003, former Miami safety Al Blades was killed in a car accident, about a year after former Miami linebacker Chris Campbell -- who had just completed his eligibility with the Hurricanes -- also died in a crash.
Pata's death was the second incident involving guns this season for the Hurricanes.
In July, reserve safety Willie Cooper was shot in the buttocks when confronted in his yard before an early-morning workout. Cooper was not seriously injured. Brandon Meriweather, one of Cooper's teammates and roommates, returned fire at Cooper's assailant, taking three shots that apparently missed, police said.
Source:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2653361