Around 9:45 p.m. Friday, Raleigh police responded to a shooting call outside of the Bahama Breeze in the 3300 block of Wake Forest Road.
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Officers said Domonique Lennon, 24, died at the scene.
READ MORE: POLICE IDENTIFY MAN KILLED IN SHOOTING ON WAKE FOREST ROAD
An eyewitness who called 911 described an altercation before hearing about a dozen shots fired.
"I think I just walked past somebody getting shot," the caller said. "I'm not sure. It's about 10 to 12 bang, bang, bangs. It's in-between two cars. I saw two guys fighting, though I don't know what two cars it was but they were fighting and then maybe one got about 10 feet past it and just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, 10 to 12 of them."
Lennon, who played 35 career games as a defensive back for the ECU Pirates from 2011-2015, had returned to his hometown of Virginia Beach, VA, after college while still pursuing his NFL dreams.
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"I know if I planted this seed right here with this little bit of change I have and invest in myself, it could work," Lennon said in a promotional video for 1String Sports Training in 2016. "Your leap of faith."
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Lennon's uncle, former UVA linebacker Melvin 'Skeet' Jones Jr., said Lennon ended up stepping away from that goal a few months later and moved to the Triangle.
Jones said Lennon, the father of a son who turned 2-years-old a couple of weeks before the shooting, was working in construction, aiming to open a gym with Jones.
"Just somewhere kids can go and train and get the most out of their abilities," said Jones. "It's probably something now that I will push for and make that happen."
Jones described Lennon as disciplined and a hard worker with a big personality, who was happy.
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Now, he's helping Lennon's mother with funeral arrangements as their family struggles to make sense of his untimely death.
"I'm still puzzled," said Melvin Jones Sr., Lennon's grandfather. "I need to know what went on."
"It just has to stop," said Jones Jr. "There's no reason for this violence. You affect so many other things when you take a life. You take a life, but you're affecting a 2-year-old, you're affecting a mother."
The East Carolina Department of Athletics issued the following statement Saturday:
"East Carolina University, the athletics department, and Pirate football program are saddened by the tragic passing of Domonique Lennon. He made a positive impact on many people during his time as a student-athlete at ECU and earned the respect of both his teammates and coaches. We extend our condolences to Domonique's family, friends, and all those who knew and loved him."
Anyone with information that might assist with the investigation of this incident is asked to call Raleigh CrimeStoppers at (919) 834-4357 or visit their website for text and email reporting options. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for anonymous tips that help solve cases.