N.J. Man Who Was Football Star At Elizabeth High Shot, Killed

A former star New Jersey athlete was shot and killed Tuesday, authorities said

Michael Eargle, 28, of Elizabeth was shot and killed just blocks away from the city's police headquarters on Tuesday afternoon, according to nj.com. He was killed shortly before 5 p.m. near Lafayette Street and Madison Avenue, the Union County Prosecutor's Office said.

Eargle was a football standout for Elizabeth High School, graduating in 2007, before he attended Purdue University on a scholarship. He was also employed with the Elizabeth Housing Authority, according to nj.com.

He was the second New Jersey athletic standout to be killed this week. A star athlete from Verona was killed by a train in Massachusetts.

Read more: Star N.J. Athlete From Verona Killed By Train In Massachusetts

Eargle made third team all-state, first team all-Union County and first team All-Watchung after scoring 11 touchdowns and making seven interceptions as a senior at Elizabeth High School, according to Purdue University's website.

At Purdue, he appeared in seven games in 2010, making two starts and finished with seven tackles, including five solo stops. He had two tackles apiece at Notre Dame, and against Western Illinois and Toledo.

One woman from Elizabeth who was overcome with emotion talked to nj.com, falling to the ground and attended to by paramedics as she recalled the incident.

"It's shocking. He didn't deserve this," Eargle's aunt, Deborah Bennett-Smith, who was called to the scene by Eargle's mother, told nj.com.

We'll have more information as it becomes available.

Patch file photo/Purdue University