Akyra Monet Murray, 18, recently graduated West Catholic Preparatory High School in Philadelphia and was known as a strong player on her basketball team.
Her coach Beulah Osueke said in a statement that Murray was “a natural leader to her teammates and all that observed her from far.”
Recommended Videos
Murray scored more than 1,000 points during her high school basketball career.
A month before she died Murray signed a national letter of intent to attend Mercyhurst University on a scholarship to play basketball.
Murray’s high school honored her memory during the first basketball game of the season in December 2016, reported Philly.com. Another player will not wear her jersey No. 20 again.
Murray was on vacation in Orlando with friends and family after graduating high school when she was killed during the Pulse nightclub shooting on June 12, 2016. She was the youngest victim at 18 years old.
The night of the shooting Murray was with her friend, Patience Carter and cousin, Tiara Parker. All three girls were shot in the Pulse bathroom.
Parker and Carter survived their injuries.
"She was the life of the party, everyone loved her, everyone adored her," Carter said of Murray.
Albert Murray wrote on Facebook after his daughter’s death that she was “one of the greatest inspirations in my life.”