Tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams are mourning the tragic loss of the "nucleus" of their family, elder sister Yetunde Price, who was fatally shot on Sunday in the Los Angeles suburb of Compton.
The 31-year-old mother-of-three, who served as Serena's personal assistant, was with a companion in a vehicle when "somehow they (became) involved in a confrontation with the local residents", an LA County Sheriff's deputy reported.
Shots rang out, and Yetunde was hit in the upper torso. She later died of her wounds at a local hospital.
On Monday, a 24-year-old man was arrested in connection with the tragedy. "We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde," the Williams family said in a statement. "She was our nucleus and our rock. She was a personal assistant, confidant, and adviser to her sisters and her death leaves a void that can never be filled."
The two tennis stars, who grew up in notoriously rough Compton but now live in Florida, immediately flew out to the West Coast upon hearing the tragic news.
Venus was in New York at the time, while Serena had been in Toronto, Canada, working on a TV series. Venus and Serena have been famously close to their three siblings, including half-sisters Yetunde and Isha, mum Oracene's children from a previous relationship. "They don't regard themselves as half-sisters, they regard themselves as sisters," said a representative for Serena. "The five girls are each others' best friends."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
