The Latest: Slain player's dad calls crime 'senseless'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the killing of a Washburn University football player and wounding of a New York Giants draft pick (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
The New York Giants say cornerback Corey Ballentine, who was shot Sunday in Topeka, Kansas, is recovering and will join the team for its minicamp this weekend.
Ballentine was injured and his friend, Dwane Simmons, was killed while attending a party hours after Ballentine was drafted Saturday by the Giants in the sixth round.
Police have said people inside a car pulled up to the home and, after exchanging words, shot Ballentine and Simmons, who were teammates on the Washburn University football team.
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman told SiriusXM NFL radio Monday that the team spoke to Ballentine Sunday and he was “coming along fine.” He said Ballentine is expected to join the Giants Thursday for the team minicamp this weekend.
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4:15 p.m.
Topeka police Chief Bill Cochran says Washburn University football teammates Dwane Simmons and Corey Ballentine were “in the wrong place at the wrong time” when they were shot at an off-campus house party.
Simmons died in the early Sunday shooting. Ballentine, whom the New York Giants drafted hours before the shooting, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Simmons and Ballentine were among about 50 people at the party.
The chief says many people, including Simmons and Ballentine, went outside after a disturbance occurred inside the home. A car pulled up and exchanged words with people before the shooting began. Cochran says the shooting and the earlier altercation don’t appear to have been linked.
A candlelight vigil for Simmons is scheduled for Tuesday on the Washburn campus.
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10 a.m.
The father of a Washburn University football player who was killed in a weekend shooting in which a New York Giants draft pick was wounded says the crime “shattered a lot of people.”
The Kansas City Star reports that Navarro Simmons described the death of his son, Dwane Simmons, as “senseless.” The 23-year-old defensive back from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was killed early Sunday at an off-campus party in Topeka, Kansas, where the school is located.
Navarro Simmons says the family learned from detectives that his son and his son’s friend and teammate, cornerback Corey Ballentine, were about to leave the party when a vehicle pulled up. He says the people inside asked a question and then started shooting.
The university says Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery. The Giants drafted him in the sixth round on Saturday.
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8:20 a.m.
No arrests have been made in a Kansas shooting that killed a Washburn University football player and wounded a former player who was drafted by the New York Giants just hours earlier.
Police in Topeka, where the university is located, say they have no new information to release early Monday, one day after officers found 23-year-old defensive back Dwane Simmons dead while investigating gunshots.
Cornerback Corey Ballentine was wounded, but his injuries aren’t believed to be life-threatening. Ballentine was picked by the Giants on Saturday in the sixth round of the NFL draft.
Police spokeswoman Gretchen Koenen said in an email that the shooting happened during a social gathering and that dozens of people were there at the time. Koenen says police are gathering witness statements.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
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