Community calls for peace in South LA after basketball star's shooting death

WILLOWBROOK, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Family and friends of a basketball star gunned down in Willowbrook held a vigil Sunday night as the search for the killer continues.

Wendell Lee Jr., 25, was in town Monday from Colorado to try out for the Lakers' minor league team when he was shot several times in the 12200 block of Elva Avenue Street shortly before midnight.

Police said a car pulled up when Lee was standing outside a female friend's house and a man in the back seat jumped out and shot him.

The suspects fled the scene.

Lee, who was a standout basketball player at George Washington High School in South Los Angeles, went on to become a top player at Colorado State University, aspiring to play pro ball.

"He was the hardest working athlete that I ever knew," said Merry Lee, the victim's mother. "He was everyday fighting to get that gold and reach for his dreams."

Family members led the way as hundreds of people held candles and marched from Magic Johnson Park to the street where Lee was killed.

Friends and community members took a stand calling for peace in reaction to a recent spike in deadly violence in South L.A.

"We make a stand to declare 100 days of peace," said Pastor Mark Garcia, a family friend. "100 days of peace."