College baseball player shot to death in Ga. Cops believe it was targeted attack

A college baseball player was shot and killed in what police believe was a targeted attack, Georgia media outlets reported.

Jatonne Sterling, 20, was found unconscious near the Lyke House, a Catholic student center that serves several colleges. He died at the scene, according to the Atlanta Police Department and Clark Atlanta University.

“Gone too soon,” the school’s athletics department wrote on Instagram.

The Atlanta Police Department said it was called at about 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 28. At the scene, officers reported finding a 20-year-old who had been shot.

“The male was not alert, conscious, or breathing and was pronounced deceased on the scene,” police wrote in a preliminary news release. “Investigators with the Homicide Unit responded to the scene to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.”

Officials said the man was shot several times in an incident that didn’t appear to be tied to the Catholic center, according to WXIA.

“We believe this was an incident, possibly an escalated dispute, between he and an acquaintance,” Lt. Germain Dearlove, commander of the homicide unit, told WAGA. “So, it’s not going to be random, it seems to be targeted.”

School officials reportedly confirmed that the man who died in the off-campus shooting was Sterling.

The 20-year-old Chicago native was a sophomore who signed with the Panthers as a utility player. He was “willing to do whatever to help the team,” according to a 2021 Instagram post.

“Please keep Jatonne’s family in your prayers,” the college wrote in its more recent post.

The Atlanta Police Department in its news release didn’t reveal whether anyone had been charged in the case or share additional information with McClatchy News, citing an ongoing investigation. The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office and Clark Atlanta University also didn’t immediately respond to requests for additional information.

Clark Atlanta University is a private, historically Black college. As of fall 2022, it had about 4,000 students.

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