Blake Bozeman, a former Morgan State basketball player and son of former Bears’ coach Todd Bozeman, died in a shooting Saturday night at a club in Washington, D.C. Blake was 31 years old, a husband, and father of three.
According to reports he was celebrating at a birthday party.
Family Man Taken Too Soon
Blake was shot around 11:50 p.m. local time at Cru Lounge in the 1300 block of H Street Northeast in Washington along with three other people. He was taken to a hospitalm where he died, according to police. Two other men and a woman were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Local police have identified a suspect and there is a $25,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
“Dear Valued Customers & Community, we will be closed until further notice in grievance for those affected by last night’s senseless violence,” Cru Lounge wrote Sunday on Instagram.
Gun Violence In The U.S.
Gun violence is an epidemic in this country due to the non-restrictive gun laws and prevalence of illegal firearms.
“This senseless gun violence gotta stop! Another young man lost. RIP Blake Bozeman and condolences to Coach Todd Bozeman. Damnit! Fierce competitor like his dad on that court and we had many battles! This has to stop !” was posted on X by Norfolk State University men’s basketball coach Robert Jones.
Todd Bozeman Is A Winning Coach
Todd Bozeman is Morgan State’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach and coached his son from 2011-2015. Blake appeared in 123 games and averaged 7.4 points and 2.0 assists per game. He had his best season as a senior in 2014-2015 as he averaged a career-high 12.4 points per game, including a season-high 25 points.
“The Morgan family extends our deepest condolences and prayers to the Bozeman family and friends. Our family was an extension of his and he was a shining example of what it means to be a student-athlete,” Morgan State University said in a statement.
Todd is currently the assistant men’s basketball coach at Rhode Island, where he played from 1982-1986. After serving as a high school assistant coach for one year, following the completion of his collegiate career, Todd became an assistant at the college level. He received his first head coaching job at the University of California, Berkeley.
During his tenure at Morgan State the team won three MEAC regular season titles, two MEAC tournament titles, and qualified for the NCAA division one men’s basketball tournament twice.
