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Friday 19 of April 2024

The Latest: Slain player's dad calls crime 'senseless'


AP Photo,In this Sept. 22, 2018 photo, Washburn defensive back Corey Ballentine carries the ball during an NCAA college football game in Topeka, Kan. Police in Kansas are investigating a shooting that killed one current Washburn University football player and injured a former player just hours after he was drafted by the New York Giants. Topeka police say officers found 23-year-old defensive back Dwane Simmons dead when they investigated gunshots shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, April 28, 2019. Ballentine is the wounded player who was picked by the Giants in the sixth round of the NFL draft Saturday. (Phil Anderson/Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)
AP Photo,In this Sept. 22, 2018 photo, Washburn defensive back Corey Ballentine carries the ball during an NCAA college football game in Topeka, Kan. Police in Kansas are investigating a shooting that killed one current Washburn University football player and injured a former player just hours after he was drafted by the New York Giants. Topeka police say officers found 23-year-old defensive back Dwane Simmons dead when they investigated gunshots shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, April 28, 2019. Ballentine is the wounded player who was picked by the Giants in the sixth round of the NFL draft Saturday. (Phil Anderson/Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the killing of a Washburn University football player and wounding of a New York Giants draft pick (all times local):

10 a.m.

The father of a Washburn University football player who was killed in a weekend shooting in which a New York Giants draft pick was wounded says the crime “shattered a lot of people.”

The Kansas City Star reports that Navarro Simmons described the death of his son, Dwane Simmons, as “senseless.” The 23-year-old defensive back from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, was killed early Sunday at an off-campus party in Topeka, Kansas, where the school is located.

Navarro Simmons says the family learned from detectives that his son and his son’s friend and teammate, cornerback Corey Ballentine, were about to leave the party when a vehicle pulled up. He says the people inside asked a question and then started shooting.

The university says Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery. The Giants drafted him in the sixth round on Saturday.

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8:20 a.m.

No arrests have been made in a Kansas shooting that killed a Washburn University football player and wounded a former player who was drafted by the New York Giants just hours earlier.

Police in Topeka, where the university is located, say they have no new information to release early Monday, one day after officers found 23-year-old defensive back Dwane Simmons dead while investigating gunshots.

Cornerback Corey Ballentine was wounded, but his injuries aren’t believed to be life-threatening. Ballentine was picked by the Giants on Saturday in the sixth round of the NFL draft.

Police spokeswoman Gretchen Koenen said in an email that the shooting happened during a social gathering and that dozens of people were there at the time. Koenen says police are gathering witness statements.