A 17-year-old wide receiver who had signed to play at Wyoming this fall was shot and killed early Sunday, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Tony Evans Jr., a senior at suburban Lancaster High School, was in a room at the Hawthorn Suites near the Dallas Love Field airport when the shooting occurred about 1:30 a.m., per the report.
Another person was wounded and taken to a hospital in stable condition. Evans was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The 6-foot-1 Evans was a three-star recruit on the 247Sports composite and signed with Wyoming on Feb. 3.
The WR from Texas!
Welcome to Wyoming ???? @TonyEvansJr1#NSD21 | #RideForTheBrand pic.twitter.com/sJYooviZRM
— Wyoming Cowboy Football (@wyo_football) February 3, 2021
As a senior, he caught 13 passes for 268 yards and four touchdowns, the Morning News said.
“The Mustang family was devastated this morning to learn of the passing of one of our former athletes,” the Lancaster football program tweeted. “Tony Evans Jr. was a passionate young man that loved football, his family, and his friends. He will be greatly missed. Rest easy T!”
The investigation into the shootings was continuing Sunday afternoon. No arrests had been made.
Evans’ father also played college football in the mid-1980s, something that Wyoming coach Craig Bohl recalled when the player signed his letter of intent.
“It’s a small world,” Bohl said then. “The name Tony Evans struck me when I saw it. When we started recruiting Tony, I realized I was on the coaching staff at Tulsa when Tony Jr.’s dad played there. It is great to have Tony Jr. join our program. He possesses great receiving skills. He is a tall receiver, who can stretch the field, and he comes from an excellent high school program.”
–Field Level Media