High school football player gunned down in shopping center parking lot, Texas cops say

A 16-year-old was shot and killed after he was seen walking up to a car in the parking lot of a business center, Texas authorities say.

The shooter fled the scene following the shooting on Sunday, Feb. 12, on the north side of Houston, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

Surveillance footage obtained by KTRK shows the victim, Zion Lampley, approach someone in a gray Volkswagen Passat moments before he was shot. As the car starts to drive off, shots were fired and the teenager was struck, according to KTRK.

Zion, a football player at Dekaney High School, tried to run off but collapsed by an apartment complex nearby, KHOU reported. His mother found him.

Sgt. Jason Brown said the teen, who was shot twice, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to KRIV.

A motive for the shooting is unclear, but Brown told KHOU it may have been drug related.

It’s believed that at least two people were in the Volkswagen, KTRK reported. Authorities did not release any identifying information about them.

“Watching the Super Bowl yesterday and get the news that a kid that was in your organization lost his battle with the streets of Houston hurts like hell!” said Kentrell Williams with the H-Town Dolphins youth football team. “As a little coach and president of an organization it makes you question yourself as to what could we as an organization done more to not let the streets not only get our kids but kill them!”

Zion’s former little league football coach remembered him as an “energetic” player who would watch his former teammates play after aging out of the league.

This story was originally published February 14, 2023 at 1:23 PM with the headline "High school football player gunned down in shopping center parking lot, Texas cops say."