West Virginia high school basketball player set to graduate fatally shot

BECKLEY, W. Va. — An 18-year-old high school basketball standout who was set to graduate this month has been killed in a shooting in southern West Virginia.

Dewayne Marquette Richardson, Jr. was shot once in the chest Sunday night, news outlets reported, citing a statement from the Beckley Police Department.

Officers responding to a report of a shooting in Beckley were flagged down by a vehicle whose occupants were taking the wounded Richardson to the hospital, the statement said. The teen was taken to Raleigh General Hospital and then flown to Charleston Area Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

Please pray for the Beckley community, the Richardson family and friends as Woodrow Wilson High School basketball player Dwayne Richardson has passed away. #304Elite pic.twitter.com/LhImEtdrgC

— 304 Elite (@304Elite) May 3, 2021

Richardson was a senior at Woodrow Wilson High School and led the school’s basketball team to the state tournament this week in Charleston, police said.

Beckley police are investigating the shooting as a homicide, the statement said. Anyone with information is asked to contact police.