An All-Academic track star for Coppin State University was critically wounded Tuesday night after being shot in the chest while going to a grocery store in Baltimore’s Mondawmin neighborhood, police said.
The 24-year-old was shot about 10:15 p.m. in the 2000 block of N. Bentalou St., according to police. Teammates told investigators that the man was making a trip to a nearby grocery store when three people accosted him; the friends drove him to St. Agnes Hospital, and he was later taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was listed in "critical and unstable" condition, police said.
A source identified the victim as Dale Dunn, a member of the Coppin track team who is from Kingston, Jamaica. Over the summer, Dunn was named to ESPN The Magazine's track and field and cross country Academic All-America second team.
According to the school's website, Dunn earned all-conference honors in cross country during the 2009 fall season, and he placed second in the 800-meter race at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Indoor Championships. He also anchored the Eagles' 400-meter relay team.
UPDATE: University officials told WBAL-TV that Dunn was on a full scholarship and maintained a 4.0 grade point average. The team's roster shows he was one of seven members on the 14-member team from Jamaica.
Friends at his home, not far from where the shooting took place, declined to talk to a reporter. It should be noted that the shooting occurred not at the Mondawmin Mall (as many seem to be inferring), but the Mondawmin neighborhood. It happened on the south side of Frederick Douglass High School, as Dunn was either making his way to or coming back from the mall, where he went to get food.
[Photo from Coppin State University web site.]