November 7, 2006 - Bryan Pata, 22, University of Miami DL:
MIAMI, Fla. (USA TODAY) -- University of Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata was fatally shot less than two hours after the Hurricanes finished their afternoon practice Tuesday, the University of Miami and Miami-Dade police said Tuesday night.
Pata was shot in the head at an apartment complex south of the university, Miami-Dade police spokesman Roy Rutland told the Associated Press.
A Miami-Dade police dispatcher said a call reporting the shooting came at 7:03 p.m.
A police spokesman said the incident took place at Pata's residence and his death was ruled a homicide, Rutland said.
The football team, which is scheduled to play Maryland on Saturday, concluded its practice at around 5:15 p.m., and players, who were provided with catered food, dispersed soon after for their dorms or homes, a sports information official said.
Investigators remained on the scene after 10 p.m., the Miami-Dade dispatcher said. In a statement released at 11 p.m., the university urged anyone with information on the shooting to come forward.
"Tonight the University of Miami tragically lost a member of our football family, Bryan Pata," the statement read. "Bryan was a fine person and a great competitor. He will be forever missed by his coaches and teammates. We offer our thoughts and prayers to his family. Our players are deeply saddened and are grieving. We ask that their privacy be respected in the coming days."
Miami, which lost 17-10 to Virginia Tech at the Orange Bowl on Saturday night, is scheduled to face No. 23 Maryland in College Park on Saturday. No announcement was made regarding whether that game will take place as scheduled. ACC Commissioner John Swofford was aware of the shooting, according to the Associated Press, and was working with Miami officials to gather information, conference spokeswoman Amy Yakola said.
Pata, a senior expected to be taken in next spring's NFL draft, started eight games for the Hurricanes and made 29 tackles. Having made the shift from defensive end to tackle at the beginning of the season, Pata was credited for making Miami's run defense one of the best in the nation.
Tuesday night's shooting turned what has been an abysmal season for the Hurricanes into a tragic one. Other off-field incidents and disappointing play on the field have frustrated and embarrassed Miami, which is 5-4 and unranked.
Pata, a criminology major, was the second Miami football player shot this season. In July, safety Willie Cooper was shot in the buttocks in his front yard by an assailant after an early-morning workout, but he was not seriously injured. Miami's Brandon Meriweather, who shared a house with Cooper, returned fire at Cooper's assailant but apparently missed.
In a blowout victory over Florida International at the Orange Bowl on Oct. 14, a massive fight erupted that resulted in the suspensions of 31 players, including 13 Hurricanes. Former Miami wide receiver Lamar Thomas was fired from his job as a local television analyst for comments he made during the broadcast that suggested he wanted to join the fight.
Pata attended Central High in Miami and was rated the nation's 26th-ranked defensive lineman as a senior by Allen Wallace's Superprep. He started at defensive end since his sophomore season.
Pata became the second Hurricanes player murdered in the last decade. Linebacker Marlin Barnes was bludgeoned to death and slashed with a knife in his dorm room in April 1996.
MIAMI, Fla. (Washington Post) -- A tumultuous football season at the University of Miami (Fla.) took a tragic turn Tuesday night when starting defensive tackle Bryan Pata was shot and killed about two hours after practice ended, school officials said.
Pata, 22, lived about 4 miles southwest of the Miami campus, and the shooting occurred at the apartment complex where he lived.
Miami-Dade police refused to release specific information about the shooting.
"When officers arrived they found the victim, Bryan Pata, deceased from an apparent gunshot wound," Miami-Dade public information officer Roy Rutland said. "We cannot release any more information — this is a sensitive, real-time, active investigation."
Rutland said Pata's body was found in a parking lot after police were called at 7:30 p.m. to the scene. Pata was pronounced dead at the scene, and the death was ruled a homicide.
The tragedy cast a pall over the Miami campus and athletic department.
"Right now, we're just gathering ourselves and just trying to pull ourselves together," Miami athletics director Paul Dee said.
"We're all in shock," Hurricanes coach Larry Coker said.
Pata, a graduate of Miami Central High, was in his fourth year with the team. He appeared in 41 games in his Miami career, making 23 starts, including eight this year, and was considered a candidate to be selected in next spring's NFL draft.
Annette Ponnock, Miami's student body president, said Pata was well known and popular on campus.
"Everyone is just more surprised than anything else," Ponnock said. "He's such a personality on campus. It was just really, really shocking to have such a loss. He just had a presence about him."
This marks the second incident involving guns this season for the Hurricanes.
In July, safety Willie Cooper was shot in the buttocks when confronted in his yard before a workout. He was not seriously injured.
Brandon Meriweather, one of Cooper's teammates and roommates, returned fire at Cooper's assailant, taking three shots that apparently missed, police said.
That shooting incident prompted Coker to say that he did not want his players to have guns, even if they possessed them legally.
Coker has been criticized by fans this season as the Hurricanes' record dropped to 5-4 and they fell out of contention in the Atlantic Coast Conference race.
On Oct. 14, the Hurricanes were involved in a bench-clearing brawl during a game at the Orange Bowl with Florida International. The school and Atlantic Coast Conference suspended 13 Miami players for their roles. FIU suspended 16 players and kicked two others off its team.
Miami is scheduled to play at No. 24 Maryland on Saturday afternoon.
