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Ex-Football Player Accused In Fatal Shooting Of College Student

[Shutterstock/Carl Ballou]

Kay Smythe News and Commentary Writer
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A female Portland State University student was shot to death in the early hours of Monday morning near the campus.

20-year-old former football player Keenan Harpole was arrested later Monday in connection to the shooting death of Amara Marluke, a 19-year-old music student at Portland State University, the Oregonian reported. Court records reportedly suggested that the incident was related to domestic violence, according to the outlet.

Harpole turned himself in to Deschutes County Sheriff’s officers in Bend, Oregon, and he was later booked on charges of domestic violence, second-degree murder and unlawful use of a firearm by Multnomah County authorities, according to KOIN. He has no prior arrests or convictions in the state, The Oregonian reported, citing court records. (RELATED: Santa Monica Now One Of The ‘Least Safe’ Cities In California, Survey Says)

The shooting occurred near an intersection close to the college campus in Portland, KOIN reported. Students living in dorms close to the area reported hearing gunshots in the early hours of the morning, according to the outlet.

Marluke was remembered by friends and family as a loyal, loving young woman who advocated for racial and social justice issues, the Oregonian reported. “To say that Amara was the light of our life, a beautiful and a caring soul would not begin to do her justice,” the victim’s father told the Oregonian. “Her dedication to her family and friends was unwavering and that she would fall victim to a senseless and violent death is unimaginable.”