Hillcrest basketball star fatally shot at birthday party

This is so sad. Another young man has lost his life too soon. Unfortunately, this is an too familiar story. A 'good kid' gunned down leaving a party that reportedly had no incidence at the party. Chicago has to do something about the violence. There has been a lot of unnecessary killings of this nature lately in the city. I hope this does not become another unsolved murder of a young, gifted African American man.

The worn basketball hoop at the end of the driveway said it all. Ryan Royall lived and breathed basketball. As a standout player at Hillcrest High School, he hoped to earn a college scholarship so his mother would not have to worry about money. College scouts were already taking notice.

But that goal was cut short early Sunday morning when a shooting at a party in south suburban Lynwood claimed the life of 17-year-old Royall who friends and family say was “one of the good kids.”

“This was senseless,” said Royall’s aunt and godmother Vallaurie Dixson. “He did everything right and he’s still gone in a random act of violence.”

At approximately 12:30 a.m. Sunday morning, Royall and a group of friends were leaving a birthday party at Ho-Chunk Sports and Expo Center in Lynwood. They were at their car when they heard a disturbance in another parking lot. Shots rang out and they hit the ground, said Royall’s friend Olajuwon Harris who was with him.

“I can’t believe Ryan is gone,” said Harris, 17. “He was a big part of my life. We were together all the time.”

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