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Murdered High School Basketball Star May Have Been Targeted After All
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 12, 2011
Modified Sep 12, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 12, 2011
Modified Sep 12, 2011
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Police now believe that the gunmen who shot and killed 18-year-old basketball standout Tayshana Murphy early Sunday morning in her Harlem housing complex intended to kill her because of a dispute with her brother. Originally, authorities believed that Murphy, who was shot in the head on the fourth floor of the Grant Houses around 4 a.m., was killed because she was wearing a sweatshirt that made her resemble another boy. Now, police are "looking into the possibility she was involved in an earlier assault," a source tells the Daily News. "It looks like they were aiming for her and the two people she was with."
A feud between residents of the nearby Manhattanville Houses and those living in the Grant Houses may have been why the assailants chased Murphy and two of her brothers into their building, where they later cornered and shot the girl. Murphy's cousin, 21-year-old Pierre Walton, tells the paper that one of Murphy's brothers, Bam-Bam, was involved in the long-running dispute. "It was no mistaken identity," he says, "They shot her because that was her brother. It was no mistake. They knew." Murphy had a dispute with a 15-year-old girl at Bishop Loughlin High School last year, and transferred "under threat of suspension."
Murphy's teammates at Murray Bergtraum High School mourned her death earlier today with a guidance counselor. "She never got a chance to wear the uniform," one of her teammates said. Murphy, nicknamed "Chicken" because of her bowed legs, was a nationally-ranked high school basketball player with dreams of joining the WNBA. Her mother recalled what she said to her about her future basketball career: "She said, 'Mom, I'm going to get you out of the projects.'"
Tagged
crime
grant houses
harlem
manhattan
manhattanville houses
nypd
shooting
violence
wnba
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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