PULLMAN, Wash. — A Kent man was killed and a Washington State University football player injured early Saturday in a shooting near campus. One man has been arrested.
Liban Barre, 23, died at a nearby hospital. Brandon Gray, a 22-year-old wide receiver for the Cougars, was taken by air ambulance to a Spokane hospital with life-threatening injuries.
WSU athletic director Pat Chun said Gray was in serious, but stable, condition.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Brandon and his family and friends,” Chun said in a statement. “As this remains an open police investigation, we are not able to comment further at this time.”
Barre was deeply involved in his South King County community, said Barre’s cousin, Yasir Rashid.
Rashid, 28, said he last saw his cousin three weeks ago in White Center, where Barre was helping people fill out applications for rental assistance.
In a Saturday afternoon press conference after a game in Salt Lake City, Cougars coach Nick Rolovich said the Pullman community was hurting in the wake of the news. Players Abe Lucas and Ron Stone Jr. said they were praying for their teammate.
“When you see something in the news like that, you never expect it to be someone you know,” Stone Jr. said. “It’s shocking and it’s humbling to know that not every day is guaranteed.”
The Pullman Police Department said officers were called around 12:30 a.m. for a report of a loud party with possibly 200 people in attendance. As police officers approached the party, they heard several gunshots and found two young men with gunshot wounds nearby. The officers attempted life-saving measures on both men.
The police department said a 23-year-old Pullman man was arrested several hours later on suspicion of assault in connection with the shooting. The investigation is still underway.