MIAMI – Miami police passed out fliers Tuesday afternoon in hopes of finding out information about the person who fatally shot a student-athlete over the weekend.
Relatives said Malcolm Nicholas III, 18, had recently transferred to a special school in Tennessee to hone his basketball skills, and was back in town ahead of Thanksgiving to attend a family party.
Instead, the promising student-athlete was gunned down Sunday night in the 1700 block of Northwest Fifth Avenue, authorities said.
His cousin told Local 10 News that the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.
"(It was a case of) mistaken identity," Devondre Hopkins said. "He doesn't do anything. He plays basketball. He came down from school to go to one of his family member's party."
Nicholas was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center after the shooting, where he died.
Nicholas previously attended Miami Senior High School, Mater Academy and Believe Prep Academy.
According to 247sports.com, Nicholas had offers to play for the Eastern Michigan Eagles and the IUPUI Jaguars.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. A reward of up to $3,000 is offered for information that leads to an arrest.