Mother of Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate killed in drive-by shooting

Ashley Griggs, the mother of Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate, died after being shot early Sunday in Chicago, according to WGN.

A police spokesperson confirmed that Griggs, 40, was killed during a drive-by shooting in the 4000 block of West Washington Boulevard near Garfield Park on the West Side around 2:25 a.m. as the occupant of a vehicle fired into a crowd of people leaving an event.

Police found Griggs with multiple gunshot wounds. Four others were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries.

WGN cited Chicago community activist Andrew Holmes in reporting that the woman who was killed was Tate's mother.

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Ohio State said in a statement, "Our coaches, staff and players are incredibly saddened by this tragedy, and they will support Carnell in any way they can during this most difficult time."

Tate is a freshman for the Buckeyes who enrolled in January and was among the standouts in spring practice. He caught a 37-yard touchdown in the spring game in April.

Before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida in 2021 for his final two years of high school, where he developed into one of the top wide receivers in the nation for his recruiting class, Tate grew up in Chicago and attended Marist High School.

The South Florida Express, his former 7-on-7 team, shared condolences in a post on Twitter, among others.

Joey Kaufman covers Ohio State football for The Columbus Dispatch. Contact him at jkaufman@dispatch.com or on Twitter @joeyrkaufman.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football receiver Carnell Tate's mother killed in shooting