Hampton hoops player dies from shooting

HAMPTON, Va. (AP) -- A Hampton University basketball player has died from what police call an accidental shooting outside a nightclub.

Hampton spokesman Yuri Rogers Mulligan said Theo Smalling of Tampa, Fla., died Monday night, two days after the starting forward was shot.

The 22-year-old team captain was shot over the weekend in the parking lot of Fusions Nightclub after investigators said another man mishandled a firearm and shot Smalling in the abdomen.

Hampton Police spokeswoman Paula Ensley said 21-year-old Dominique Devon Smith has been charged with reckless handling of a firearm. It is not known if Smith has an attorney.

Ensley said Smalling and Smith knew each other.

HU basketball coach Ed Joyner called Smalling's death devastating.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)