USC freshman point guard Ryan Francis was shot multiple times and killed early Saturday while riding in a car in his hometown of Baton Rouge, La., the apparent unintended victim of a dispute between two other young men.
Francis and three other passengers in a 2006 Chevrolet Impala pulled up to a stoplight at an intersection in the northern part of the city around 3 a.m. when the driver of an adjacent vehicle recognized the driver in Francis' car "as someone that he had been disputing with over personal differences," according to the police report.
The driver in the adjacent vehicle, a 2000 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, pulled up and blocked the intersection while wielding a firearm, the police report stated.
The driver of the vehicle Francis was riding in tried to drive away, but the assailant opened fire and Francis, sitting in the left rear passenger seat, was hit several times. The 19-year-old died upon arrival at a trauma center at 3:40 a.m.
Police arrested D'Anthony Norman Ford, 19, of Baton Rouge without incident and charged him with first-degree murder Saturday morning, said Lt. Keith Bates of the Baton Rouge Police Department. Ford is expected to be arraigned this week and could face the death penalty if convicted. Police "are leaving open the possibility of additional arrests," Bates said, pending further investigation.
Bates would not divulge the specific nature of the disagreement between Ford and the driver of the Impala. Police declined to release the names of the driver or the other passengers in Francis' vehicle, none of whom suffered injuries.
A funeral will be held Wednesday or Thursday in Baton Rouge, and the entire USC team is expected to attend. Trojans assistant coaches Bob Cantu and Gib Arnold planned to leave for Louisiana today.
A family member who answered the phone at the Francis residence in Baton Rouge said the family was not prepared to comment.
Coach Tim Floyd called the death of Francis, a popular player known for his defensive tenacity and refuse-to-lose attitude, "a tremendous jolt" that has devastated the USC basketball community.
"You're not supposed to have favorites when you're coaching, but he was one of mine," Floyd said of Francis, who was a Pacific 10 Conference all-freshman honorable mention selection. "He is just going to be remembered so fondly by all of us because he was such a passionate person about living and trying to do the right thing."
