Slain Former Football Player's Number To Be Retired At Game

DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA – Desert Hot Springs High School will retire the jersey number of slain graduate and former football player Solomon Patrick during the team's home game this evening against the Palm Desert Aztecs.

Patrick, 19, was gunned down last month outside a Cathedral City house party. Police are seeking three unidentified assailants in connection with the DHS High School graduate's killing.

Patrick's 1 will be retired during a ceremony that will include a presentation of his jersey to his mother, Athletic Director Kai Lyles said. The game will also be a "whiteout," in which the team and spectators will be asked to wear white in Patrick's honor.

"He was the epitome of a team player," said Lyles, who noted that Patrick worked extra hard to get his grades up in order to be eligible to play for the team.

Lyles said Patrick "bled blue and gold" and showed special dedication in his efforts to make the cut.
His number retirement will mark the first number to be retired in the school's history.

Patrick was shot multiple times about 2:40 a.m. July 2 in the 68500 block of Tachevah Drive during a fight that broke out for unknown reasons between two groups of young men, according to Cathedral City police Cmdr. Julio Luna. He died at the scene.

Police are seeking three men between the ages of 18 and 21, who fled after the shooting, Luna said. Anyone with information on the case was asked to call the Cathedral City Police Department at (760) 770-0398.

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--City News Service/Image courtesy of GoFundMe page