Basketball star's aunt mourns after deadly shooting

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The family of a local basketball star killed in a deadly shooting on Indy’s west side Tuesday is now mourning the loss of a “beautiful person.”

Six people were shot at the Ben Davis baseball park just after midnight Tuesday. Larretha Draughon, 22, was killed; five others were hurt.

Larretha’s aunt Monneka Draughon spoke to 24-Hour News 8 about her brother’s oldest daughter Tuesday evening.

She said she had hoped Larretha would be headed back to Vincennes University in the fall to play basketball there.

 “The world just lost a beautiful person; I can’t believe she's gone,” said Monneka Draughon.

Larretha, or "Lala," as she was known to friends and family, was just weeks away from her 23rd birthday when she was shot to death early Tuesday morning.

“I just want everybody to know she was such a special human being. She was so multi-talented … and had so many gifts … . I just can’t believe it got cut short like this,” Draughon added.

Lala went to Northwest High School and set records there in basketball. She won a scholarship to Vincennes University, but then was arrested after an attempted robbery

Lala was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network as she fought, with the help of her basketball coach, to get back on her feet.

But something happened that stopped that dream early Tuesday morning.

Lala’s aunt isn’t sure why she was at the park, and said she had thought Lala was just in town visiting friends.

She said she’s hoping her niece is remembered for her accomplishments, not her mistakes.

“She made a mistake. She paid for it, and she rebounded … . She didn’t go backwards … . She had goals, and she was on her way to reaching them,” Draughon said. Lala had hoped to go into the WNBA, she said.

As far as what happened early Tuesday morning at the baseball field, police said two groups of girls had gathered to fight when someone pulled out a gun.

There is a person of interest in the case, but police aren't saying yet who that is.