According to a story via The Independent, a 22-year-old Australian baseball player, was shot and killed by three Oklahoma teenagers for no other reason than to appease their boredom.
Prosecutor Jason Hicks told an Oklahoma court that Christopher Lane, 22, of Melbourne was shot once in the back after being chosen at random by the three teenagers believed to be involved.
Christopher died at the roadside in Duncan from his injuries, despite witnesses and emergency services rushing to administer aid.
Two teenage boys have been charged with first-degree murder and will be tried as adults under Oaklahoma law. A third boy has been charged with using a vehicle in the discharge of a weapon and with accessory to first-degree murder. He will be considered a youthful offender but will be tried in an adult court.
Lane attended East Central University, where he played baseball. He was visiting his girlfriend and her parents in Duncan after returning from Australia just a week ago.
The boys told Duncan Police Chief Dan Ford, that they shot Lane for “the fun of it” after having a boring summer and with classes set to resume Tuesday.
The people of Australia and Lane’s girlfriend are naturally distraught.
Family and friends on two continents were mourning Lane, who gave up pursuit of an Australian football career to pursue his passion for baseball, an American pastime. His girlfriend, Sarah Harper, tearfully laid a cross at a streetside memorial in Duncan, while half a world away, an impromptu memorial grew at the home plate he protected as a catcher on his youth team.
“We just thought we’d leave it,” Harper said as she visited the memorial in Duncan. “This is his final spot.”
After they convict these young men, they should throw away the keys. Thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Lane.