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Former Clemson University star wide receiver Diondre Overton was shot and killed at a house party in his native Greensboro, North Carolina during the early morning hours of Saturday, September 7, 2024, according to a news release from the Guilford County sheriff’s office.
Overton, 26, was pronounced dead at the scene of the shooting – which took place sometime after 2:30 a.m. EDT at a residence in a suburban neighborhood located approximately four miles southeast of Greensboro.
“Deputies responded to a call regarding a loud party and noise disturbance (at the residence),” according to the sheriff’s statement. “As they made their way to the scene, deputies received updated information indicating that a shooting had occurred at the location.”
Medical aid was administered to Overton, but it was too late.
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— BowTiedBroke (@BowTiedBroke) September 27, 2024
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As of this writing, no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting, nor have any suspects been identified. However, investigators seemed to believe the incident was isolated.
“The investigation suggests that this incident is isolated,” the statement continued. “It remains an active and ongoing homicide investigation.”
Overton signed with Clemson out of Walter Hines Page high school in Greensboro – where he played wide receiver and cornerback. He earned his degree from Clemson in sports communication in the summer of 2019.
Overton played more than 1,000 career snaps for head coach Dabo Swinney‘s teams between 2016 and 2019 – amassing 52 career receptions for 777 yards and seven touchdowns over 51 games. He played on two national championship squads and four conference championship teams. Following his Clemson career, Overton played professionally in the USFL, recording 42 catches for 533 yards and five touchdowns for the Philadelphia Stars over the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Overton’s biggest game as a Tiger came in 2019 against Boston College. He caught three touchdowns against the Eagles and amassed a career-high 119 receiving yards in leading Clemson to its 23rd consecutive victory. Overton won the “leather helmet” as the game’s most valuable player.
Swinney praised Overton after the game for sticking with the program even when other Tiger wideouts were receiving more playing time.
“I could’ve transferred, could’ve left, could’ve let my team down,” Overton said. “But I just kept the faith.”
“Clemson Football and the entire Clemson family mourns the passing of Clemson alumnus Diondre Overton,” a statement from the school noted. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Individuals with information related to the shooting – or who attended the party where it took place – were encouraged to contact detective J. Robertson at 336-641-5969. Individuals wishing to report information anonymously should contact Guilford County Crime Stoppers at 336-373-1000.
Greensboro/Guilford Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward of $5,000 for information which would help law enforcement solve the case.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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2 comments
Lots of athletes dying as of late. Does anyone know what happened to the young man who played football for Blythewood? They are trying their best to keep that hidden from the public.
Well, since there aren’t screaming headlines all over the country about this sad fellow getting killed by a racist white person, I’m guessing he is just another in the long, long line of statistics of young black men killing each other at an average yearly casualty rate worse than any war the US has been in since WWII. And the media will briefly mention it, then move on to the next click-bait story of a person of color being killed by a white person – but also avoiding the stories of asian and jewish people in urban areas getting violently brutalized by primarily young black men. And for the reactionist race -baters who will scream these observations in of themselves are racist, let me be clear: it’s not black men and women over 40, or young black women (generally speaking), but young black boys and men, aged 15 to about 35 who are the problem.