FAMU Loses Women’s Basketball player

Florida A&M shooting guard Shannon Washington was killed early Sunday morning during an argument with her friend Starquineshia Palmer, according to the Tallassee Police Department.

TPD officers arrived at 3025 Adams Street at approximately 2:05 a.m., after a stabbing had been reported. Upon arrival, they found Washington with a stab wound from a kitchen knife in her neck. She was treated by the officers on the scene until medics arrived.

She was transferred to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Palmer was still in the apartment when officers arrived. An investigation determined she did not live in the apartment and had traveled to visit the victim for the weekend from Central Florida. She was detained and charged with first-degree murder.

 “Our hearts and prayers go out to Shannon’s family and members of the Lady Rattlers Basketball Team,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons via press release. “For Shannon to be killed in the prime of her life is tragic and senseless. She had so much promise as a student athlete. This is a great loss for the university and our athletic program.”

Washington, a Sarasota, Fla. native, was a junior college transfer from Illinois Valley Community College. She was recently inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Tenn.

A memorial ceremony will be held in her honor at 8:30 p.m. in Lee Hall.