HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A Post University basketball player was shot and killed in over the weekend at a nature preserve in central New Jersey, police said.
The student-athlete, identified as 20-year-old Philip Urban from Manapalan, N.J., was found “slumped over” in the driver’s seat of a white Mercedes around 7 p.m. Saturday, officials said.
Police had responded to Hopewell Valley Nature Preserve, about 15 miles from Trenton, when they found Urban in the vehicle. The exact nature of the initial police call was not clear.
Urban was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound, according to the county prosecutor’s office.
A preliminary investigation into the homicide appears to indicate that Urban had arranged to meet an acquaintance at the preserve and was shot at some point during the encounter. No arrests have been made so far, officials said.
It was not immediately clear the circumstances of the meeting between Urban and the acquaintance.
Urban was in his first year at Post University in Waterbury. He had graduated from Pennington School in New Jersey.
In a tweet welcoming the 20-year-old to the team when he committed last spring, Post University describe him as a “6’6 skilled wing” who can play multiple positions on the court.
Post University CEO and President John Hopkins said in a statement that the university’s community is “heartbroken” to learn of Urban’s death.
“As a member of the Men’s basketball team and a Business Administration major, Philip modeled the attributes of leadership, commitment and hard work on the court and in the classroom,” he said. “We hope that his family, friends and those affected by his passing will find strength during this extremely difficult time.”
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