Standout College Basketball Star, 22, Shot and Killed by His Sister: Police
A star athlete at Portland State University was shot and killed on Friday, allegedly by his own sister, according to police.
Portland native and standout basketball player Deante Strickland, 22, was fatally shot at a Northeast Portland home alongside two other women, who were left with non-life threatening injuries.
On Saturday morning, authorities arrested Tamena Strickland, 30, on charges of murder and two counts of attempted murder, with family confirming that Tamena was Deante’s sister, NBC News reports.
According to Tamena and Deante’s uncle, Damian Strickland, his niece shot Deante as well as her aunt and her grandmother. Both women are expected to survive, Damian told The Oregonian.
The newspaper also reported that a 4-year-old child was present at the time of the shootings.
Damian told The Oregonian that his nephew’s last words were “My sister shot me” and “I don’t want to die.”
A spokesperson for the Portland Police Bureau did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Deante was a standout basketball player at Portland’s Central Catholic High School before beginning his collegiate career at Casper College in Wyoming, eventually transferring to Portland State University after being recruited by coach Barret Peery in 2017.
“We are better for having had Deante in our lives,” Peery said to OregonLive following the news of Deante’s death. “His smile, passion and energy for life was second to none. He lit up a room and made the people around him better in every way.”
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Peery added, “He loved his family, his friends and everyone around him. He had great pride in being a kid from Portland and it showed in how he competed each day. We will never forget him and he will always be with us.”
Strickland played 65 games over two seasons at Portland State, where he majored in social science, according to Peery. The star athlete had also joined the school’s football program last spring.
An investigation into Strickland’s death is still ongoing.
