A high school senior who planned to play football at North Texas this fall was identified Monday as one of three people shot and killed Sunday in Austin, Texas.
The Elgin (Texas) Independent School District issued a statement Monday confirming the death of Willie Simmons III, who signed with the Mean Green last December. Also killed was Alyssa Broderick, who played basketball at Elgin High School before leaving school last fall.
“We are heartbroken by the news of this senseless tragedy, and we extend our deepest condolences to the families of Willie Simmons III and Alyssa Broderick,” Elgin ISD superintendent Jodi Duron said in a statement. “The Elgin ISD community grieves the loss of these two young, promising souls.”
Simmons, Duron said, “was an exceptional young man and leader among his peers. Strong, both academically and athletically, he represented the very best of Elgin ISD. He was captain of our football team; a friend to everyone he met; and most recently, recruited to play football for the University of North Texas.”
The shooting occurred Sunday around noon in the Arboretum area of Austin. Interim police chief Joseph Chacon said “the victims were all known to this suspect.”
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The third victim, a woman, has not been identified.
On Monday morning, authorities arrested Stephen Broderick, 41, in connection with the killings. His relationship to Alyssa Broderick was not immediately known.
The suspect was a former property crimes detective who resigned from the police force last summer after he was arrested in connection to the alleged sexual assault of a child. His wife filed for divorce and sought a protective order following his arrest.
This is the second tragedy to hit the North Texas campus within a week. Mean Green assistant basketball coach Nelson Haggerty died in a single-car accident Friday morning. He was 47.
–Field Level Media