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Ex-St. John's Basketball Standout Arrested in Philadelphia Shooting: Police

A former St. John's University basketball player is accused of shooting a man during an attempted robbery in Philadelphia last week. 

Police in Philadelphia say Rysheed Jordan, 21, and two other suspects arranged a meeting on Facebook to sell a cellphone to at least two people Friday afternoon, then tried to rob them at gunpoint. 

When the victims ran off, Jordan allegedly opened fire and shot one of them, a 23-year-old man, in the arm, police said. Jordan fled the scene.

The victim was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania where he was placed in stable condition.

At around 2 a.m. Wednesday, Temple University Police spotted Jordan allegedly running a red light and tried to pull him over. He briefly evaded police, then ditched his car and ran off on foot, police said. 

Officers chased after him, and one saw him throwing a gun over a fence into a yard, police said. He was taken into custody shortly afterward. 

Police say they recovered the weapon, which was loaded with five live rounds and had an obliterated serial number. 

Jordan is charged with violation of the uniform firearms act and other related offenses in connection to Wednesday’s incident. Police say he is expected to face charges of attempted murder, robbery and other related offenses in connection to the May 27 incident.

Jordan then played two seasons for St. John’s University before being drafted by the NBA D-League team the Delaware 87ers. He played 11 games with the team before he was released.   

During his high school basketball career at Robert Vaux High School in North Philadelphia, he was at one point ranked as the number three best high school point guard in the country and was rated number 17 in ESPN’s top 100 list. He was also the 2012-2013 PIAA Player of the year.

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