Ryan Royall : Budding Basketball Star Shot Dead at Sweet 16 party near Chicago

According to various reports from the Chicago Sun, ABC7, and other news sources, Ryan Royall, a budding basketball star for the Hill Crest High, was shot and killed.

Ryan Royall killed

Royall was attending a party with a group of friends. When the group left the party around 12:30am, shots rang out with Royall being struck multiple times. After being rushed to St. Margaret Mercy Health Care in Dyer, Ind he was pronounced dead an hour later.

Ryan Royade’s death as been ruled a homicide.

The star’s passing leaves hopelessly and void from a community where Royall was not only an exceptional basketball player, but a role model to younger students could look up to.

“He was such a harmless kid,” Hillcrest basketball coach Don Houston told the Sun-Times of Royall, whom he coached for three seasons. “There wasn’t a mean bone in his body.”

Friends say he was trying to secure an athletic scholarship so his widowed mother would not have to worry about paying for his college education.

“He’s my brother. This wasn’t supposed to happen to him,” said Olajuwan Harris, a friend of Ryan Royall.

With 200 or 300 students in attendance, there were no reports of trouble during the party.

Police have not released a motive for the crime, but some in the victim’s neighborhood say they don’t believe Royall was the target.

“Just a random shooting,” said Royall’s neighbor Fernando Howard. “An innocent bystander gets shot in the back and loses his life.”

A standout guard, Royall had just finished his junior year at Hillcrest High School.

Royall’s coach, Don Houston, said Royall hoped to play in college and had gotten the attention of some recruiters.

“He’s a very talented player,” said Houston. “He was going to end up being one of our captains this year.”

Friends say that in addition to a career in the NBA, Royall had also hoped to get a degree in sports medicine.