Former Hoosier Football Player Chris Beaty Killed in Indianapolis Over the Weekend
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Image: Fox59.com
Written by Sammy Jacobs (@Hoosier_Huddle)
Chris Beaty, a former Indiana Hoosier football player and Cathedral High School standout was killed late Saturday night in Indianapolis from multiple gun shot wounds. Beaty was 38 years old and played for the Hoosiers from 2000-2004 and helped bring three state titles to Cathedral during his time as a student there from 1996-99. After football Beaty founded Fresh Marketing, LLC, an event promotion company and co-hosted the “Digital Universe” online talk show. Another young man, Dorian Murrell, was also killed over the weekend in the wee hours Sunday morning.
Chris Beaty Image: Indiana University Athletics
Sherman Flucas II, a friend of Beaty’s since their days of battling across the line of scrimmage together while Flucas was at North Central and Beaty was at Cathedral, describes Beaty as the kind of person who sent out “nothing but positive vibes when ever in his presence” and that “Chris was a man who helped any way he knew with the community, friends and family. His legacy should be remembered as one that trail blazed a work ethic in the entertainment industry that Indianapolis will have a huge hole in trying to fill.”
Downtown Indianapolis has been the site of protests and violence as a result of the death of George Floyd in which Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin has been charged with his murder. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police are investigating the incident as a homicide and have told the Indy Star an arrest has been made in connection with one of the shootings, but did not confirm which one.
Beaty was still actively involved with IU football. He tweeted on April 26th a screen shot of head coach Tom Allen, Mark Deal and several other Indiana football alumni. He thanked Allen for checking in with the former players and said that IU football was in good hands.
Current Indiana head coach Tom Allen released a statement on Twitter Monday morning regarding Beaty’s death. It reads:
I am at a loss for words. The news of the passing of Chris Beaty is just devastating. Since I returned home to coach at Indiana, Chris embraced me, encouraged me and supported me! His passion for life and Indiana football energized me every time we were together. He was one of our first alumni that displayed unwavering support for what we are building here at Indiana and how we are building it. I am so heartbroken for his family and he will be deeply missed by all those that were blessed to call him a friend! #LEO——Tom Allen
Many across the state, as well as he country, took to social media to express their sadness on social media to mourn Beaty. Former Indiana head coach Gerry Dinardo, who coached Beaty from 2002-2004 at Indiana said on Twitter that Beaty’s death is “very sad and horrible news. We all take responsibility if we don't make a difference. We're part of the problem or part of the solution there are no other choices. So sad.”
UPDATED INFORMATION
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.