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2015 forward drowns in kayaking accident

shanun

Rivals.com

In 2012, Abdul Razak Shanun immigrated to the United States from Ghana as an exchange student with hopes of receiving an education and earning a college scholarship. Having received interest from programs such as San Diego State and UMass, Shanun was approaching his senior year of high school with those goals within reach.

Shanun’s life came to a tragic end Saturday, as his drowned after his kayak capsized in Mission Bay just off the coast of San Diego according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Shanun, whose body wasn’t found until Sunday morning according to the report, was just 17 years old.

Shanun had rented a red kayak Saturday and had paddled part-way across the bay when the watercraft capsized about 3 p.m., Swanson said. Witnesses saw him cling to a life preserver for a short time, then he lost his grip on it and sank into the water off Santa Clara Point Recreation Center. He didn’t know how to swim, a fire official said.

Shanun was supposed to attend Balboa City School in San Diego this school year. Upon arriving in the United States Shanun played at both Redemption Christian Academy (Troy, New York) and the Atlanta Sports Academy, and this past spring he played for the New York Lightning grassroots program.

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