PHOENIX (AP) — Dick Van Arsdale, a three-time All-Star who became the first Phoenix Suns player after being selected by the franchise in the 1968 expansion draft, has died. He was 81.
The Suns announced Van Arsdale's death in a statement on Monday and a team spokesman confirmed that the franchise had received the news from his family. A cause of death wasn't disclosed.
The 6-foot-5 Van Arsdale played his first three NBA seasons with the New York Knicks before being selected by the Suns with their first pick in the 1968 expansion draft. He an All-Star during his first three seasons in the desert, averaging a career-high 21.9 points during the 1970-71 season.
Van Arsdale was part of the franchise's 1976 team that advanced to the NBA Finals before losing to the Boston Celtics and retired in 1977 as the franchise's all-time scoring leader. His is survived by twin brother, Tom Van Arsdale, who was also a three-time NBA All-Star and played with his brother in Phoenix during the 1976-77 season.
After his playing days, Dick Van Arsdale held several positions with the franchise, including broadcaster and front-office executive.
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FILE - Phoenix Suns' Dick van Arsdale, right, comes in on a play as New York Knicks' Dick Barnett, left, prepares to move out with the ball during an NBA basketball game at New York's Madison Square Garden, Oct. 21, 1969. (AP Photo/Ron Frehm, File)
Two people were killed and others were injured Monday in a shooting at a private Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin. The shooting happened days before the Christmas break. Police said the student who opened fire was also dead.
Here are some things to know about the shooting in Wisconsin's capital city:
The shooting occurred late Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School. Police said a teenage student opened fire, killing another student and a teacher. The shooter also was dead, likely by suicide, Police Chief Shon Barnes said. Responding police officers did not fire their weapons, Barnes said.
The shooter was a 17-year-old female student, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
Investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
The school website shows that Friday was to be the last scheduled day of classes before the holiday break.
President Joe Biden, in a statement, called the shooting “shocking and unconscionable,” and urged Congress to act immediately.
“From Newtown to Uvalde, Parkland to Madison, to so many other shootings that don’t receive attention -- it is unacceptable that we are unable to protect our children from this scourge of gun violence,” Biden said. “We cannot continue to accept it as normal. Every child deserves to feel safe in their class room. Students across our country should be learning how to read and write -– not having to learn how to duck and cover.”
Nine public schools in Madison were locked down for a few hours after the shooting as a precaution.
Abundant Life Christian School is nondenominational and has about 390 students from kindergarten through high school, according to its website.
"Prayers Requested! Today, we had an active shooter incident at ALCS. We are in the midst of following up. We will share information as we are able," the school posted on its Facebook page. “Please pray for our Challenger Family.”
The school's website said it was founded in 1978 “to offer students academic excellence in a Christ-focused context.” The website said the school is accredited through the Association of Christian Schools International.
The shooting comes less than two weeks after a gunman critically wounded two kindergartners at a tiny religious school in Northern California and then killed himself. Butte County Sheriff Kory L. Honea said Glenn Litton was mentally ill and believed that by targeting children on Dec. 4 that he was carrying out “counter-measures” in response to America’s involvement in Middle East violence.
Litton, 56, gained entry to the Feather River School of Seventh-Day Adventists in Oroville,, California, by pretending he wanted to enroll a fictitious grandson, Honea said. He used a handgun to shoot and critically wound two kindergarten boys, ages 5 and 6. Authorities said Litton was found dead afterward just yards (meters) from the school's playground.
It was unclear why Feather River School was targeted.
The website for the anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety shows that there have been at least 202 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, resulting in 56 deaths and 147 injuries, in 2024. That data doesn't include the latest shooting in Madison.
The deadliest school shooting in 2024 happened in September at Apalachee High School in Georgia. Authorities said 14-year-old student Colt Gray opened fire with a semiautomatic assault-style rifle. Four people were killed and nine more were hurt, seven of them shot. A grand jury subsequently indicted Gray and his father Colin Gray — who was accused of giving his son access to the gun — on murder and other charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Last year, 45 people died in 158 school shootings, the Everytown for Gun Safety website shows. Sixty-seven people died in 181 school shootings in 2022, according to the data.
School shootings in recent years, including deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut, Parkland, Florida, and Uvalde, Texas, have set off fervent debates about gun control and frayed the nerves of parents whose children are growing up accustomed to doing active shooter drills in their classrooms. But school shootings have done little to move the needle on national gun laws.
Firearms were the leading cause of death among children in 2020 and 2021, according to KFF, a nonprofit that researches health care issues.
A family leaves the shelter after multiple injuries were reported following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students walk to a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students aboard a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students aboard a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students walk to a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students walk to a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students walks to a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students aboard a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students aboard a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Families leave the SSMI Health Center, set up as a reunification center, following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Families leave the SSMI Health Center, set up as a reunification center, following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A child is embraced at the SSMI Health Center, set up as a reunification center, following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A child run to the family as they were reunited at the reunification center following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Police walk outside the Abundant Life Christian School following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024 in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Students aboard a bus as they leave the shelter following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Police guard as emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A family leave the shelter after multiple injuries were reported following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A student gets on a bus for the reunification center after multiple injuries were reported following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A family leave the shelter after multiple injuries were reported following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside of the SSM Health clinic where parents are being reunified with children after a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside of the SSM Health clinic where parents are being reunified with children after a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are staged outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A family leaves the SSMI Health Center, set up as an reunification center, in Madison, Wis., following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A family leaves the SSMI Health Center, set up as an reunification center, in Madison, Wis., following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A family leaves the Abundant Life Christian School after a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside of the SSM Health clinic where parents are being reunified with children after a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer)
Emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Police investigate as emergency vehicles are parked outside the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wis., where multiple injuries were reported following a shooting, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
A family leave the shelter after multiple injuries were reported following a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School, Monday, Dec. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
