Frisco ISD basketball player killed in Little Elm house party shooting

FRISCO, Texas - The Frisco Independent School District confirmed a high school student died in a weekend shooting.

17-year-old Keith Slaughter was a senior at Lebanon Trail High School and was a member of the varsity basketball team.

"It’s hard for me to process that Keith is no longer here," said Natasha Slaughter, Keith's mother.

Police say the shooting happened Saturday night at a party near Walker Lane and El Dorado Parkway at a home in Little Elm.

Keith was a varsity basketball point guard for Lebanon Trail High School in Frisco.

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Little Elm Party Shooting: Man dead, 2 injured, police say

Little Elm police say 3 people were shot at a house party in Little Elm on Saturday night.

Keith's mother said initially he and his friends were on the fence about going to the party.

"Most of them didn’t want to go. Some did, you know they live in Frisco, the party was in Little Elm, so it was like, let’s just all go. If we’re going to go let’s go together," Slaughter recalled.

She says Keith didn't go out often.

"This time he asked me. I was cooking dinner and I didn’t find the reservation. He was like, ‘Can I go to my friends house?’ I said he doesn’t typically ask to go that much," Slaughter said.

Marcos Branche was like a step-father to Keith and his older brother Kemarian, who is now a sophomore at OU.

They say Keith was hoping to land a basketball scholarship.

"I really mimicked him in a sense because he was such an articulate child. He was really good at telling stories," said Kemarian.

"This last year, man, Keith was just like, completely transformed into a better version of Keith. He’s always been a great kid, but a better version of a great kid," said Branche.

Joe Willis, Slaughter's AAU basketball coach is still in disbelief at the loss of one of his players.

"It's tough," Willis said. "We are very much hurt a lot. Like, nobody is ok right now."

Willis says Slaughter took his talent seriously and was a hardworker and leader on and off the basketball court.

He was just weeks away from his senior season on the Lebanon Trail varsity team.

"He wanted to make sure his mother and his parents were taken care of. That was his goal. There was no doubt in his mind he was going to take care of his family," said Willis.

At least two other people were injured. A female victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition and a male victim was found two streets away from the crime scene.

"It is very sad that an individual is having a birthday party, and, you know, we have to deal with the results of one individual passing away and two being injured," said Mandy Biter, the Assistant Chief of the Little Elm Police Department.

In the meantime, Little Elm Police investigators are looking for help trying to find five individuals at the Little Elm party.

"The first video is of two individuals getting into a dark-colored vehicle, so if anyone knows of that vehicle or the two persons getting in that vehicle. The second video we are releasing is three separate individuals wearing dark-colored hoodies running from the scene directly after the incident," said Biter.

Police did not say how many people had guns or used them, but they believe Keith Slaughter was caught in the crossfire and was not the intended target of the shooting.

A motive is still unknown.

"I just want to make sure that it’s conveyed that even though this was an act of gun violence, it was not an act against my son's life," said Natasha Slaughter.

Counselors will be at the high school on Monday for grieving classmates and teachers. 

Little Elm Police investigators are urging anyone with information about the 5 people in the video to give them a call.