PITTSBURGH -- 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.
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.
<!-- one graph from Katz -->Ashaolu was shot in the head and remained in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon, a Duquesne source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
Ashaolu is from Toronto, and his parents were traveling to Pittsburgh on Sunday to be with their son.
<!-- graph from Katz -->Stuard Baldonado was also in critical condition after he was shot in the elbow and the bullet entered his body, the Duquesne source told Katz.
Also hospitalized is Kojo Mensah, a guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., who averaged nearly 17 points last season at Siena before transferring, school officials said at a news conference Sunday. Mensah was believed to have been shot in the shoulder.
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, and Aaron Jackson, a guard who is one of only two returning players from Duquesne's 3-24 team of last season.
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. Jackson was shot in the hand.
<!-- graph from Katz -->According to the Duquesne source, the basketball staff is at the hospital awaiting word on Ashaolu's and Baldonado's condition. The source said the team has been shaken by this incident and was seeking counseling.
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.
<!-- graph from Katz -->According to the Duquesne source, the majority of the team had gone to a Black Student Association dance event and was walking back to the dorms when they were approached by the gunman, who, according to police, had apparently been disruptive at the party.
According to police, 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.
<!-- graph from Katz -->Police are apparently searching for possibly two shooters, the Duquesne source told Katz.
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.
Information from ESPN.com senior college basketball writer Andy Katz and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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.
<!-- one graph from Katz -->Ashaolu was shot in the head and remained in critical condition as of Sunday afternoon, a Duquesne source told ESPN.com's Andy Katz.
Ashaolu is from Toronto, and his parents were traveling to Pittsburgh on Sunday to be with their son.
<!-- graph from Katz -->Stuard Baldonado was also in critical condition after he was shot in the elbow and the bullet entered his body, the Duquesne source told Katz.
Also hospitalized is Kojo Mensah, a guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., who averaged nearly 17 points last season at Siena before transferring, school officials said at a news conference Sunday. Mensah was believed to have been shot in the shoulder.
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, and Aaron Jackson, a guard who is one of only two returning players from Duquesne's 3-24 team of last season.
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. Jackson was shot in the hand.
<!-- graph from Katz -->According to the Duquesne source, the basketball staff is at the hospital awaiting word on Ashaolu's and Baldonado's condition. The source said the team has been shaken by this incident and was seeking counseling.
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.
<!-- graph from Katz -->According to the Duquesne source, the majority of the team had gone to a Black Student Association dance event and was walking back to the dorms when they were approached by the gunman, who, according to police, had apparently been disruptive at the party.
According to police, 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.
<!-- graph from Katz -->Police are apparently searching for possibly two shooters, the Duquesne source told Katz.
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.
Information from ESPN.com senior college basketball writer Andy Katz and The Associated Press was used in this report.
