‘Tired of senseless killing’: Washburn calls for change after player’s shooting death
The players circled a blue T-shirt in the center of the field, placing plastic candles around it.
Looking over the No. 17 Ichabod jersey, the group of mostly tall, sturdy athletes embraced each other. Some cried, others stared. A bright scoreboard displayed a photograph of their slain teammate, Dwane Simmons.
The solemn moment came as hundreds of people gathered at Washburn University in Topeka to remember 23-year-old Simmons, who was gunned down Sunday at an off-campus party. The shooting also injured his roommate and close friend, Corey Ballentine, a 23-year-old senior and recent New York Giants draft pick.
During the vigil, which began indoors, the college’s football coach, Craig Schurig, said the football field was Simmons’ “piece of heaven.” The coach compared Simmons to the candles carried by mourners, saying he “shined the light on everybody.”
Schurig described Simmons, who graduated from Lee’s Summit West High School, as a determined young man who joined his team without a scholarship, something he later earned. When Simmons suffered his second injury, which could have ended a career, he told his coach within minutes: “I’ll be back.”
In his 25 years of coaching, Schurig said, he has gotten to know many players. But Simmons was close to his heart. He made friends across teams.
“He knows way more people than I know in this town,” Schurig, who has been at Washburn for 17 years, told the crowd. “You walk across campus, people knew Dwane, and they loved him.”
And, he added: “They’re hurting.”
The gunfire erupted about 12:45 a.m. Sunday in the 1400 block of Southwest 13th Street, a few blocks from the university’s campus. Ballentine was hospitalized and was expected to make a full recovery.
Simmons’ family has said they learned from detectives that Simmons and Ballentine were about to leave the party, put on by the college’s women’s soccer team, with other football players when a vehicle pulled up and the people inside asked them a question. When the car circled back, someone inside started shooting.
When Simmons joined the football team, Schurig told Simmons’ father, Navarro Simmons, he would keep his son safe.
“I feel like I failed,” he said.
“This was a senseless murder,” Navarro Simmons said Sunday as more than two dozen family members gathered at the southeast Kansas City home of Simmons’ mother. “This shattered a lot of people.”
Schurig said Simmons’ death hit him in the gut. No one, he said, “can wrap themselves around it.”
Many of the university’s athletes live in an area they now call ‘Washburn north.’ The community and school together, Schurig said, need to protect students.
“This may be the thing that triggers it,” he said “This may be the thing that gets it done.”
Alvin Houston, a defensive back for the Washburn Ichabods, told Navarro Simmons his son, who stood 5 feet 9 inches and weighed 170 pounds, wanted to be as strong as him in the weight room. His teammates knew that wouldn’t happen, Houston said to laughter.
Houston became emotional as he said he and Simmons connected off the field.
“When I look at Dwane, I see myself,” he said.
Football players will wear Simmons’ number during games, the coach said. The university plans to create a scholarship in his name.
To offset funeral and memorial expenses, Washburn Athletics and Vision Bank set up a GoFundMe page for the Simmons family. As of Tuesday night, the page had raised $270 of its $2,500 goal.
Donations can also be made at the bank’s locations at 3031 SW Wanamaker Road or 712 S. Kansas Ave, the university said
No one has been arrested. Police have not released any suspect information as of Tuesday night.
Pastor T.D. Hicks, a member of the Ichabod coaching staff, told students it was OK for them to shed tears. But he called for action, saying Simmons’ death could help bring change to the Topeka community. He demanded anyone with information call authorities.
“If you were at the party and you know something, say something,” Hicks said to applause. “I’m tired of senseless killing.”
Someone in the crowded room shouted back: “Amen!”
Police asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the Topeka Criminal Investigation Bureau at 785-368-9400 or the Shawnee County Crime Stoppers at 785-234-0007. Anonymous tips can be made online at p3tips.com/128.
This story was originally published April 30, 2019 at 10:32 PM with the headline "‘Tired of senseless killing’: Washburn calls for change after player’s shooting death."
