RIP Offie
Someone I graduated high school with was killed on Friday night. I didn't know him personally, but EVERYONE knew him. He was this friendly guy who was always smiling. He was just...Offie.
This is the first death from my graduating class. :(
link to article
Hillsboro athlete killed in shooting
Offie Dennis was a star on Hillsborough High football, track squads.
By PAMELA SROKA
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK -- A former Hillsborough High School star athlete was fatally shot Saturday on Senior Street after leaving a late-night house party with friends, according to officials from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Offie Dennis, 24, of New Brunswick was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital after police officers responding to a 1:53 a.m. 911 call found him lying on the sidewalk near 97 Senior St. with a gunshot wound to his head, Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Nick Sewitch said.
Dennis was pronounced dead at 3:14 a.m., officials said.
Before the shooting, Dennis had been walking along the sidewalk with his brother and two friends, Sewitch said.
No suspects had been apprehended or charged by police as of press time Saturday, said Sewitch, who added that police detectives and other investigators are currently conducting a "very active" investigation.
Investigators do know that more than one gunshot was fired during the incident, Sewitch said.
Dennis, a 2000 graduate of Hillsborough High School, was driven by playing sports. In high school, he set conference records in indoor track for the 45-meter hurdle, 45-meter dash and tied the record for the high jump. A senior sprinter, Dennis took home three golds and a silver to help his teammates garner their third straight crown during the Skyland Conference Championships in May 2000. A former football coach at the high school called him "unstoppable" when Dennis scored five touchdowns in his first game as a senior against Watchung Hills Regional High School in Warren.
"He just loved sports," said Lolitha Dennis, his mother. "He was just an outgoing guy, everybody loved him. He was a free spirit."
Lolitha Dennis said her son once dreamed of playing sports professionally and studied sports medicine while attending Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass., in 2000. He later attended both Middlesex County College in Edison and Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg. He was working for BML in Raritan Borough, a stage lighting company.
Dennis, a lifelong Hillsborough resident before recently moving to New Brunswick, was also a member of the Sherman Avenue Prayer Band Church in Plainfield and sung in the Sunday choir.
"He was just fun-loving, happy," his mother said. "He was just an all around good kid. Everybody got along with him. Everybody just loved to be around him."
Rick Mantz, former football coach at Hillsborough High School, said Dennis was someone the younger players on the team admired.
"Offie was a phenomenal athlete," Mantz said. "The kid used to joke about being a freak of nature because he was one of the fastest kids we ever had in the program. Everything he did, he moved effortlessly. He never seemed to break a sweat."
Mantz described Dennis as a "game breaker" when he played for Hillsborough.
"He just lit the place up," Mantz said. "He was a special kid, just exploded on the field. He could do things other kids couldn't do. It's just such a shame. His personality is definitely going to be missed."
Rich Refi, Hillsborough's indoor/outdoor track and cross country coach, recalled Dennis as popular among his peers and "one of the best athletes" he has seen to date.
"The kids definitely looked up to his talent," Refi said. "He was just an incredible, talented and a nice guy. The guy you wanted to hang around with. He did anything we asked him to do."
The investigation into Saturday's shooting is ongoing, officials said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective John Selesky of the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5218, or investigator Ivan Scott of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at 732-745-3300.
DEBORAH LYNN BLUMBERG
This is the first death from my graduating class. :(
link to article
Hillsboro athlete killed in shooting
Offie Dennis was a star on Hillsborough High football, track squads.
By PAMELA SROKA
Staff Writer
NEW BRUNSWICK -- A former Hillsborough High School star athlete was fatally shot Saturday on Senior Street after leaving a late-night house party with friends, according to officials from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Offie Dennis, 24, of New Brunswick was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital after police officers responding to a 1:53 a.m. 911 call found him lying on the sidewalk near 97 Senior St. with a gunshot wound to his head, Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Nick Sewitch said.
Dennis was pronounced dead at 3:14 a.m., officials said.
Before the shooting, Dennis had been walking along the sidewalk with his brother and two friends, Sewitch said.
No suspects had been apprehended or charged by police as of press time Saturday, said Sewitch, who added that police detectives and other investigators are currently conducting a "very active" investigation.
Investigators do know that more than one gunshot was fired during the incident, Sewitch said.
Dennis, a 2000 graduate of Hillsborough High School, was driven by playing sports. In high school, he set conference records in indoor track for the 45-meter hurdle, 45-meter dash and tied the record for the high jump. A senior sprinter, Dennis took home three golds and a silver to help his teammates garner their third straight crown during the Skyland Conference Championships in May 2000. A former football coach at the high school called him "unstoppable" when Dennis scored five touchdowns in his first game as a senior against Watchung Hills Regional High School in Warren.
"He just loved sports," said Lolitha Dennis, his mother. "He was just an outgoing guy, everybody loved him. He was a free spirit."
Lolitha Dennis said her son once dreamed of playing sports professionally and studied sports medicine while attending Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass., in 2000. He later attended both Middlesex County College in Edison and Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg. He was working for BML in Raritan Borough, a stage lighting company.
Dennis, a lifelong Hillsborough resident before recently moving to New Brunswick, was also a member of the Sherman Avenue Prayer Band Church in Plainfield and sung in the Sunday choir.
"He was just fun-loving, happy," his mother said. "He was just an all around good kid. Everybody got along with him. Everybody just loved to be around him."
Rick Mantz, former football coach at Hillsborough High School, said Dennis was someone the younger players on the team admired.
"Offie was a phenomenal athlete," Mantz said. "The kid used to joke about being a freak of nature because he was one of the fastest kids we ever had in the program. Everything he did, he moved effortlessly. He never seemed to break a sweat."
Mantz described Dennis as a "game breaker" when he played for Hillsborough.
"He just lit the place up," Mantz said. "He was a special kid, just exploded on the field. He could do things other kids couldn't do. It's just such a shame. His personality is definitely going to be missed."
Rich Refi, Hillsborough's indoor/outdoor track and cross country coach, recalled Dennis as popular among his peers and "one of the best athletes" he has seen to date.
"The kids definitely looked up to his talent," Refi said. "He was just an incredible, talented and a nice guy. The guy you wanted to hang around with. He did anything we asked him to do."
The investigation into Saturday's shooting is ongoing, officials said.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective John Selesky of the New Brunswick Police Department at 732-745-5218, or investigator Ivan Scott of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office at 732-745-3300.
DEBORAH LYNN BLUMBERG