5 Duquesne basketball players shot,2 critical

[JonInMiddleGA]

http://sports.myway.com/news/09172006/v2205.html

5 Duquesne Basketball Players Shot, 2 in Critical Condition

Sep 17, 12:35 PM (ET)

By ALAN ROBINSON

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.

[JeeberD]

Holy crap, Baldanodo was almost a Miner but went to Duquesne at the last minute! I hope everyone injured winds up OK...

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

Holy crap, Baldanodo was almost a Miner but went to Duquesne at the last minute! I hope everyone injured winds up OK...

Suddenly JeeberD becomes a prime suspect...

[JeeberD]

Baldonado is suing the school now...

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Duequesne shooting victim sues school for security failure
April 26, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

PITTSBURGH -- One of five Duquesne University basketball players shot on campus last year has sued the school, alleging it failed to provide adequate security at a dance.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, says university officials did not take action once they knew of potential criminal activity. A doorman let two armed men into the dance even after their friend asked if the men would be frisked, according to the lawsuit.

"Rather than alerting the campus police who were present inside the ballroom about (the frisking inquiry), or taking other similar reasonable steps, the doorman simply responded that they would not be frisked," and allowed the men to enter, the lawsuit states.

The player who filed suit, Stuard Baldonado, was one of five shot early Sept. 17 as they walked back from the dance. Also wounded were Aaron Jackson, Shawn James, Kojo Mensah and Sam Ashaolu, who was shot twice in the head.

Baldonado, a junior transfer from Miami-Dade Community College in Florida, was shot in the arm. The bullet, according to the lawsuit, hit an artery and then continued through his chest, missing his spine by a centimeter.

Two alleged gunmen and two women who allegedly helped facilitate the shooting are awaiting trial. Each has pleaded not guilty.

A Duquesne spokeswoman declined to comment on the suit Thursday.

Baldonado remains a scholarship player and works out with his teammates, after taking a medical redshirt last season because of his injuries, said Teresa Toriseva, his attorney.

The bullet damaged Baldonado's elbow and back "preventing him from doing the full range of things he did as a basketball player," Toriseva said. "That was really the motivating factor for moving forward with the lawsuit, the dramatic impact these injuries are going to have on the rest of his life."

Baldonado and Ashaolu, a 6-7 junior forward from Toronto, missed the season because of the shootings. It remains uncertain if either will play again, though both were cleared to work out with the team.

James, a 6-10 center, and Kojo Mensah, a 6-1 guard, also missed considerable practice time due to their wounds but were ineligible to play this season after transferring from other Division I schools. Jackson, who was grazed by one of the bullets, was the only one of the five who played last season.

Baldonado is not seeking specific damages from the university. None of the suspects was named as a defendant.

[MikeVic]

Candy Baldonado.

[molson]

Gotta sue somebody