The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office in a statement on Sunday announced that Ole Miss freshman football player and New Orleans native Corey Adams, 18, was gunned down in Tennessee.
According to The Associated Press, authorities said that the fatal Saturday incident occurred at an intersection in Cordova, and Adams had sustained a gunshot wound when they found him inside a car.
“They provided life-saving measures until Shelby County Fire arrived,” the sheriff’s office said. “Shelby County Fire personnel later pronounced the victim deceased on the scene.”
Authorities also said four other men who were struck by the gunfire suffered non-life-threatening injuries, adding that they used personal vehicles to go to hospitals that were close by.
Though authorities are yet to identify suspects linked to the shooting, they said they have launched a homicide investigation into the case.
Prior to his killing, Adams was among the top defensive linemen recruits in the United States, The Associated Press reported. The University of Mississippi’s football program in a statement on social media said that the news of Adams’ killing had left them “devastated.”
“While our program is trying to cope with this tragic loss, our thoughts are with his loved ones during this incredibly difficult time,” the team said. “We ask the Ole Miss community to keep Corey in their thoughts and respect the privacy of everyone involved.”
The deceased teen’s former high school football team, the Edna Karr Cougars, also reacted to his killing in a post on Facebook, stating that “words can’t describe this type of pain.”
“Corey Adams was more than a football player! He was a friend, brother, son, student, and all around great young man,” the team said. “We never question God but this is one we just don’t understand.”
READ ALSO: Tributes pour in after 18-year-old Baylor football player Alex Foster is fatally shot
