Rick Dean
Registered
52
http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindea...20504393140.xml
Benedictine football player dies in shooting
04/17/04
Lila J. Mills and Bob Fortuna
Plain Dealer Reporters
Police found an up-and-coming high school football player dead on a Cleveland street Friday morning.
Lorenzo Hunter, 16, died from wounds to his chest, left arm and hip, Cuyahoga County Coroner Elizabeth Balraj said.
Lorenzo, a sophomore at Benedictine High School on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, played on the school's championship football team las
fall. The Bengals won the Division III state crown, beating Kenton 12-0 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton. At the time, Benedictine coach Art Bortnick said Lorenzo was part of the team's strong future.
<br
Friday, Bortnick said everyone affiliated with the parochial boys
school and its football program was devastated and shocked.
"A lot of us can't comprehend what happened," he said. "Lorenzo was a quiet but well-rounded kid with good grades. He'd go out of his way to say hello to you, you could establish a rapport with him, and I never saw a negative side of him."
Lorenzo's family gathered Friday a few blocks from the school, in the Mount Auburn Avenue house where Lorenzo lived.
They declined to speak with a reporter. Neighbors started a memorial of balloons, flowers and teddy bears in front of the house.
Lorenzo was a little more than two miles from home when he was shot about 2 a.m. at East 124th Street and Craven Avenue. Paramedics and
police arrived shortly after the shooting because a neighbor reported hearing gunshots. Officers found Lorenzo in the street.
One neighbor said she regularly hears shots and doesn't
pay
muc
h attention
. But she said that on Friday she ran outside because she heard someone scream.
The woman, who d
eclined to give her name, said she did not see anyone.
Detectives had no suspects in the death of the promising young player.
Lorenzo, a 6-4, 185-pound wide receiver-safety, got his first varsity start in his freshman year during the last regular-season game. He started in the five post-season games that followed.
Kieran Patton, Benedictine High School director of admissions and athletic director, said counselors would be available to students Monday, when the school reopens after Easter break. He said he expects the school will have some type of service next week.
Bortnick mourned his player.
"Lorenzo could run like a deer," he said. "He w
as going to be a major force for our football team the next two years. He had such a promising future. This is such a tragedy."
Reporter Jennifer Gonzalez contributed to
this st
ory.
To reach these
Plain Dealer reporters:
ljmills@plaind.com, 216-999-4141
bfortuna@plaind.com, 216-999-4479
http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindea...20504393140.xml
Benedictine football player dies in shooting
04/17/04
Lila J. Mills and Bob Fortuna
Plain Dealer Reporters
Police found an up-and-coming high school football player dead on a Cleveland street Friday morning.
Lorenzo Hunter, 16, died from wounds to his chest, left arm and hip, Cuyahoga County Coroner Elizabeth Balraj said.
Lorenzo, a sophomore at Benedictine High School on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, played on the school's championship football team las
fall. The Bengals won the Division III state crown, beating Kenton 12-0 at Fawcett Stadium in Canton. At the time, Benedictine coach Art Bortnick said Lorenzo was part of the team's strong future.
<br
Friday, Bortnick said everyone affiliated with the parochial boys
school and its football program was devastated and shocked.
"A lot of us can't comprehend what happened," he said. "Lorenzo was a quiet but well-rounded kid with good grades. He'd go out of his way to say hello to you, you could establish a rapport with him, and I never saw a negative side of him."
Lorenzo's family gathered Friday a few blocks from the school, in the Mount Auburn Avenue house where Lorenzo lived.
They declined to speak with a reporter. Neighbors started a memorial of balloons, flowers and teddy bears in front of the house.
Lorenzo was a little more than two miles from home when he was shot about 2 a.m. at East 124th Street and Craven Avenue. Paramedics and
police arrived shortly after the shooting because a neighbor reported hearing gunshots. Officers found Lorenzo in the street.
One neighbor said she regularly hears shots and doesn't
pay
muc
h attention
. But she said that on Friday she ran outside because she heard someone scream.
The woman, who d
eclined to give her name, said she did not see anyone.
Detectives had no suspects in the death of the promising young player.
Lorenzo, a 6-4, 185-pound wide receiver-safety, got his first varsity start in his freshman year during the last regular-season game. He started in the five post-season games that followed.
Kieran Patton, Benedictine High School director of admissions and athletic director, said counselors would be available to students Monday, when the school reopens after Easter break. He said he expects the school will have some type of service next week.
Bortnick mourned his player.
"Lorenzo could run like a deer," he said. "He w
as going to be a major force for our football team the next two years. He had such a promising future. This is such a tragedy."
Reporter Jennifer Gonzalez contributed to
this st
ory.
To reach these
Plain Dealer reporters:
ljmills@plaind.com, 216-999-4141
bfortuna@plaind.com, 216-999-4479