Family pleads for public to help find gunman who killed 25-year-old basketball star

SOUTH LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- The family of Wendell Lee pleaded with the public to provide any information that could lead to the gunman who killed him last year.

It remains a mystery to the Lee family why a gunman murdered the 25-year-old basketball player. The family said the Lakers were interested in the budding star before he was shot to death outside of a friend's house in Willowbrook last September.

The gunman remains at large, and the Lees stay steadfast, demanding people in the neighborhood to overcome any fears they have to help police catch the killer.

Detectives said the gunman simply got out of a car in the late hours of Sept. 22, walked up to Lee without exchanging any words and shot him multiple times.

Lee, a shooting guard, was one of 40 players invited to try out for five slots on the Los Angeles D-Fenders, a Lakers development team. His family said playing in the NBA was Lee's passion.

"Basketball was his life along with his relationship with God," Lee's brother London Brown said.

Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.