Auburn, AL – Auburn football player Eric Mack was wounded in a shooting near campus on Saturday night.
According to the Auburn police department, Mack was among six victims in the shooting. Three of the victims, including two former Auburn football players, died.
Mack, an offensive lineman from South Carolina, is expected to fully recover from his injuries.
Edward Christian and LaDarious Phillips were the two former Auburn players pronounced dead. Christian was not playing because of a back injury, while Phillips had quit the team.
"This is a sad, sad day for everyone associated with the entire Auburn family," said Auburn head football coach Gene Chizik in a statement on Sunday. "I am devastated by the passing of three young men, including two that I personally knew in Ed Christian and LaDarious Phillips and my heart goes out to their families. My thoughts and prayers are with their families and all of the victims involved in this tragic incident. Nobody should ever have to endure such unimaginable grief, and we will love and support the victims' families during this terribly difficult time. We have a lot of people on our football team that are hurting right now and we're going to do everything we can to help them get through this. We are relieved that Eric Mack, who was also a victim in this incident, is expected to make a full recovery. This is a very trying time for everyone involved, and I would just ask that you lift up the victims and their families in your prayers."
Police said the shooter, identified as Desmonte D. Leonard, fled the scene in a vehicle with two other men. Warrants for capital murder have been obtained for Leonard.
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