Elon University football player Demitri Allison died Wednesday after plunging from a 10-story residence hall.
"According to law enforcement officers, Demitri died this afternoon after falling from Morrison Residence Hall, a 10-story building at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill," Smith Jackson, Elon's dean of students, wrote in a
letter posted online. "He had left the Elon campus yesterday and his teammates, friends and family asked police to look for him because they were concerned for his well-being and emotional state."
University of North Carolina police told
WBTV that Allison committed suicide.
Allison, a junior from Cornelius, North Carolina, had become an important part of the school's football team last season,
Bleacher Report said. As a sophomore, he was second on the team with 55 catches for 525 yards and two touchdowns.
"Everyone associated with Elon athletics is devastated," athletics director Dave Blank said in the school's letter. “Demitri was a talented young man with a bright future who was loved by his teammates. We mourn his loss deeply and we pray for his family and loved ones.”
“He was an extremely kind and gentle, thoughtful person who was so humble and I always felt like when Demitri came into our life, he was just a blessing from above to us,” Allison’s mother, Lisa Hartman, told
Elon Local.
Teammates shared their grief over Allison's death online.
"I think everyone just needs to take a moment for thinking, reflection, for healing. Obviously, it is a very emotional time," said Tyler Patchen, a student at Elon University, told WBTV. The station said students gathered Thursday to remember Allison.