Former Racine Case HS basketball star killed in shooting near 12th and Memorial
RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Twenty-seven-year-old Koreem Ozier was killed after being shot near 12th and Memorial on Sunday night, Sept. 20, according to the Racine Police Department.
About 100 family members and friends gathered for a vigil Monday night.
Racine police confirm a 23-year-old man was interviewed as a person of interest, then arrested on a related charge. Police are still looking for the person believed to be the shooter.
Officers responded around 8:56 p.m. Sunday and found the victim, identified as Koreem Ozier, with a gunshot wound to the chest, police say. He was taken to Ascension Hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Koreem Ozier
Police say early information indicates Ozier got into an altercation with another man before being shot, and the shooting appears to be an isolated incident.
Ozier played basketball for Case High School. He finished his senior year in 2018 as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
He then accepted a basketball scholarship to Sacred Heart University in Connecticut before later transferring to Louisiana-Monroe.
After college, he briefly played professionally in China.
Reaction to his death poured in from former teammates, friends, and community members.
Racine native and former NBA All-Star Caron Butler also posted about Ozier.
The current Miami Heat assistant coach wrote: "I'm just at a loss for words. Heartbreak and tears."
While Racine police investigate the shooting, Mayor Cory Mason says no words can make sense of the loss.
"A death like this feels so close and so personal," Mayor Mason said. "It's somebody's child, cousin, friend, neighbor...even when you don't know the person directly, chances are you know somebody who loved them."
Koreem Ozier and his mother were in the CBS 58 studio back in 2018 to talk about the challenges he'd faced and his drive to overcome them.
Koreem had just graduated from high school and accepted a college basketball scholarship.
He told us then that though his father was a positive influence, his run-ins with the law kept Koreem from having a strong male role model.
“It was very difficult, at first. It was very difficult," Koreem said. "When my father was first arrested, it made me very angry. I didn’t know what I was angry at, but I was very angry. Luckily, I met some really great mentors and things like that to help me channel that anger in a positive way.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Racine Police Department Investigations Unit at (262) 635-7756. Provide information anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at (262) 636-9330 or by using the P3 Tips online service.