ESPN.com is reporting that Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle Bryan Pata was shot and killed outside of his apartment Tuesday night. Investigators don’t have any leads to Pata’s assailant at this moment, but have already ruled that the shooting was a homicide.
According to teammates, family members and friends, Pata was a soft-spoken young man who was well liked and had dreams of playing in the NFL. Nobody could grapple with the fact that Pata possibly had any enemy who would want to do this to him.
“Brian was cool, calm and collective,” Telfort told ESPN’s Joe Schad on Tuesday night. “He would do anything for his friends. He was a guy everybody loved. Bryan never got in trouble with anybody. I have no clue who would do this to him.”
“But I know the streets and to my knowledge he had no conflicts in the streets,” Graham said, sobbing. “Maybe someone was jealous. Maybe someone tried to rob him. I have no idea why he was shot. I just know he was shot. I didn’t know anyone that disliked him.”
This is now the University of Miami’s fourth death in one decade. Former safety Al Blades and linebacker Chris Campbell were killed in two separate car accidents within a year of each other. In 1996, reserve linebacker Marlin Barnes was murdered in a campus apartment while just a few months ago, reserve safety Willie Cooper was shot in the buttocks in an apparent robbery. Current starting safety Brandon Merriweather apparently shot and missed Cooper’s assailant. Since then, head coach Larry Coker has restricted his players from keeping guns (legal or not).
It’s sad that another young man has perished so early in his life. It’s also just as sad that the University of Miami is involved in another one of these situations.
