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by Jim Berry
KENDALL (CBS4) ― The football community doesn't know why anyone would want to kill University of Miami Football player Bryan Pata in Kendall Tuesday night.

Police still have no leads or a motive behind the murder of Pata who was shot and killed Tuesday night, shortly after leaving the practice field. The 22-year old popular athlete was shot and killed in the parking lot outside of his apartment complex, Colony Apartments located at 9315 SW 77th Avenue, which is about four miles from campus.

"I don't know why somebody would want to do something like that to him," said Jerome McDougle, with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Pata's mother, Jeanette Pata, grieved for her son after she arrived at the murder scene. She was emotional and cried and told reporters that her son didn't have any enemies. She wore a replica of her son's Hurricanes jersey with the words "Number 1 Mom" written on the back of the jersey.

"[He said] I love you so much," said Pata. "I said 'honey I love you too."

Police are still searching for clues as grief counselor's work with Pata's teammates.

An on-campus memorial will be held Wednesday, November 15th at the Guzman Concert Hall at UM in Coral Gables.

Saturday afternoon's scheduled game against Number 23 Maryland is still on.

This was the latest jolt to a Miami team that has dealt with another shooting this season and was part of a wild on-field brawl last month.

"We're trying to get through a hard time right now and it's going to take time," Miami quarterback Kirby Freeman told The Associated Press after a team meeting at the university's athletic complex. "And that's what being a close football family is all about. We're going to help each other with this."

School officials said Coach Larry Coker was "numb" over the news. The athletic department released a statement urging anyone with information about Pata's death to call police.

"Bryan was a fine person and a great competitor. He will be forever missed by his coaches and teammates. We offer our thoughts and prayers to his family," the university said in its statement.

A moment of silence was held at Miami Central High, Pata's alma mater, Wednesday morning, said Anthony Saunders, his high school coach.

"He was a great kid. A well-mannered, well-disciplined kid," Saunders said. "It never seemed like he had any problems. Everything was always on track. He was going to the NFL and then he got shot in the head."

Atlantic Coast Conference commissioner John Swofford was aware of the situation and was to talk with Miami officials throughout the day, conference spokeswoman Amy Yakola said.

Rutland said police were called at 7:30 p.m. to the scene and found Pata's body. He lived about 4 miles from campus. No motive was released, and Miami-Dade police did not say who made the 911 call after the shooting.

"Right now, we're just gathering ourselves and just trying to pull ourselves together," athletic director Paul Dee told the AP.

The 6-foot-4, 280-pound defensive lineman was in his fourth year with the Hurricanes and was expected to be selected in next spring's NFL draft. He appeared in 41 games, making 23 starts. Pata played primarily defensive tackle this season, totaling 13 tackles and two sacks.

"Pata was a guidance counselor, in a way, of our football team," Freeman said. "He wasn't the captain of the team, yet people would look to Pata for direction on the way things are going. He was definitely a great leader."

Pata was fierce on the field but somewhat soft-spoken off it.

"Everyone is just more surprised than anything else," said Annette Ponnock, Miami's student body president. "He's such a personality on campus. It was just really, really shocking to have such a loss. ... He was a big guy so it was kind of hard to miss him. He just had a presence about him."

In April 1996, reserve linebacker and Miami native Marlin Barnes was murdered in a campus apartment. And in 2003, former Miami safety Al Blades was killed in a car accident, about a year after former Miami linebacker Chris Campbell -- who had just completed his eligibility with the Hurricanes -- also died in a crash.

In July, reserve safety Willie Cooper was shot in the buttocks when confronted in his yard before morning workout. Cooper was not seriously injured. Brandon Meriweather, one of Cooper's teammates and roommates, returned fire at Cooper's assailant, taking three shots that apparently missed, police said.

Several Miami players, including Pata, said that was a robbery attempt and cautioned teammates to be aware of their surroundings.

"We're targets because we play for the University of Miami. ... These guys, they know who we are," Miami linebacker Jon Beason said shortly after the Cooper shooting.

That prompted Coker to say that he did not want his players to have guns, even if they possessed them legally.

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