Adreian Payne, a former NBA player and former Michigan star was fatally shot on Monday morning in Orlando, Florida, according to investigators. At the age of 31. Payne was located by deputies sent to the Orlando shooting scene at about 1:30 a.m., according to an official with the police department.
Who Is Adreian Payne?
At the hospital, Payne was confirmed dead after being sent there immediately. According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, first-degree murder charges have been filed against accused murderer Lawrence Dority, 29, was present at the crime scene and is being held without bail.
The arrest of Dority allegedly went without a hitch, and he is said to be working with authorities. There is a confirmed shooting death of Payne in Florida, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. A townhome community near Econ Landing is where Payne was assassinated. Dority has already been arrested as part of the inquiry.
Officers arrived to find Dority still at the crime site, according to a police statement. Before he was taken into custody, officers spoke with him. There is still no official word on the specifics of the incident.
Dority is cooperating with police, but they haven’t revealed if he’s the shooter who killed Payne. This Monday he had received some bad news: Sullinger has been terminated. In college and the NBA, Sullinger and Payne faced off against one other before bouncing around Europe and China.
When Payne played for Atlanta, Minnesota, and Orlando during the regular season, he averaged 4.4 ppg and 3.0 rpg. The Hawks selected him 15th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. Payne made the Big Ten Second Team his sophomore and senior years.
As a Timberwolves backup, the 6-foot-10 power forward had his best years. He left the NBA after the 2018 season and went on to play in Greece, China, Turkey, and Lithuania, where he won a league championship.
He met eight-year-old Lacey Holdsworth while attending college and spoke at her memorial service in April. To this day, Payne, who affectionately referred to her as Princess Lacey, says she was an invaluable resource for him. “It’s good to be with her and not think about basketball.”
He made it known that he will be taking a break from the game in September of 2021 to be with his son during his son’s upcoming brain surgery. It’s what I love to do. “Amari is my heartbeat,” he wrote on Twitter.
The cause of death:
On Monday morning, a shooting in Orlando, Florida, claimed the life of former Michigan State Spartan and NBA star Adreian Payne. He was 31 at the time. With 16.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, Payne led the Spartans to the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Elite Eight in 2014.
His bond with an 8-year-old cancer patient named Lacey Holdsworth made Michigan State supporters most fond of Payne. Holdsworth’s presence on the court inspired Payne and the rest of the team after their Big Ten championship victory. A few times later, she passed away.
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