Former Students Rally Behind Compton College Baseball Coach, Shot Sunday Near His Home

By Web staff

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    COMPTON, California (KCAL) — A beloved Compton baseball coach was shot outside his home Sunday on McDivitt Avenue, near the intersection of East Peck Street, north of Rosecrans, and some former students and players are now doing what they can to help him.

Compton College Head Coach Shannon Williams has invested decades of his life to students in his hometown, and no one knows that more than Ricci Sergienko, who was coached by by Williams.

“It’s important for everyone to know that Compton College is people place go for, like, their second and third chances,” Sergienko said.

Now a lawyer and a community activist, Sergienko said he owes his current success to the man who molded him one baseball diamond at Compton College.

“Yo, Shannon has meant so much to us,” he said.

Williams was shot in his leg on Sunday while he was near his home, in what appears to be a random act of violence. After he got through surgery, his students decided to set up a fundraising account for their most influential mentor to show him how invested they are in his recovery.

“It was something that we needed to do, especially with the American healthcare system,” Sergienko said. “Even people with good insurance are going to pay out of pocket costs when they go to the hospital.”

In less than 24 hours, the community has already raised more than $8,000 for Williams.

“I played with dudes that had been to jail before and different people from different backgrounds and Shannon just takes us all and makes us one family,” Sergienko said.

As for Coach Williams, he already told Sergienko that he can’t wait to get back on the field with the baseball family he built.

“He has dedicated his entire life into reinvesting into the community and being a positive influence for kids, and I can’t really speak more highly of anyone. Coach Shannon is one of the few good people out there,” the former Compton College player said of his mentor.

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