New Mexico

Man Accused in Shooting Death of College Baseball Player From Keller

Police arrested Darian Rashaud Bashir on Friday, according to an affidavit

Police in New Mexico arrested a man Friday accused of fatally shooting a University of New Mexico baseball player from Keller.

Police arrested Darian Rashaud Bashir, 23, Friday. According to an arrest warrant affidavit, he faces murder charges in the shooting of Jackson Weller, 23, a former Nolan Catholic High School baseball player whose family lives in Keller.

"He was such a friendly spirit and he brought so much love and joy and compassion to campus every day," Nolan Catholic High School Athletic Director Rene Ramirez said.

Ramirez, who was the head baseball coach at Nolan Catholic when Weller graduated in 2014, said the young pitcher left a lasting impression.

"We hear all the time about how much teachers and coaches impact students, but the secret is they have more impact on us than they know of," Ramirez said.

Weller was shot in the chest just after 2 a.m. on May 4 outside an Albuquerque bar called Imbibe, the affidavit said. He was transported to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

The affidavit said friends who were with Weller on May 4 told police that Weller got into a minor "scuffle/fistfight" with other people shortly before he was shot. Police said Weller's friends told them Bashir was not among the group of people Weller previously encountered.

Police identified Bashir through surveillance video evidence that was corroborated through a witness who knew Bashir, the affidavit said.

Ramirez said the loss of Weller has been painful for the community.

"We're a small school, so when these things happen in our community, it's felt throughout," Ramirez said.

Nolan displayed Weller's jersey and photos in the school chapel last week as a memorial to the former student.

"There's never going be any closure on something like this," Ramirez said. "These things are going to stay with us for forever and Jackson is always going to be forever in my heart, his teammates and his classmates."

Weller's funeral will be held Monday at 1 p.m. at Good Shepherd Catholic Community at 1000 Tinker Road in Colleyville.

NBC 5's Chris Blake contributed to this report.

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