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Beloved Lehigh basketball player killed in tragic shooting

Posted at 6:58 PM, Jul 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-26 07:44:33-04
LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. - Lehigh Acres Senior High School and the boy's basketball team are grieving after one of their players was killed during a mass shooting at Club Blu in Fort Myers.
 
18-year-old Stef'an Strawder was a rising senior and beloved member of the team who played point guard.
 
Strawder's coaches at the school call him an "exceptional kid", a "leader" and someone who "brightened up the gym." 
 
Dawn McNew, Strawder's former coach, likens her shock and devastation to losing a son.  
 
"I couldn't stop crying. He was so close to me," said BJ Edwards, a teammate and Strawder's friend since the 5th grade.
 
On the court, Strawder was a talented competitor with a promising future. Off the court, he's described as a good kid and great student.
 
"His character was always goofy. He always wanted to laugh and make jokes," Edwards said.
 
Now, the unthinkable reality has left the Lehigh basketball family grieving and calling for change.  "These are our kids. We're losing our kids to shameful crime and we as a community need to step up and do something," said Jackie Corey, principal at Lehigh Senior High School.