Akyra Murray, 18, an All-Catholic basketball player, just graduated from my alma mater and was shot dead in the Orlando massacre Saturday night:
Last month, Akyra Murray signed a national letter of intent to attend Mercyhurst University on a full-ride scholarship for basketball, a sport she once doubted she was good enough to play.
Omar Mateen had other intentions for the recent West Catholic Prep graduate.
Murray’s name was added Monday to the list of victims that Mateen shot and killed early Sunday at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where she was celebrating her graduation.
After Mateen opened fire, Murray, 18, called and texted her parents as she bled. She screamed for them to come get her, but died along with 48 others.
“She just graduated last week,” her father, Albert, said by phone from Orlando. “She was kind, helpful. She helped everybody.”
Murray was a quiet force at West Catholic, where she transferred at the beginning of her junior year. She built herself into a 1,000-point basketball star with daily workouts, silencing her freshman critics and paving the way to a free college education.
