LeBron asks his 51 million Twitter followers to "pray for our community" after teen's death

LeBron James asked his 51 million followers on Twitter to "pray for our community" following the beating death Thursday night of an Akron teen on the campus of his I Promise School.

Akron Police say 17-year-old Ethan Liming was beaten to death after he and his friends got into a confrontation with another group of males at the school's basketball court.

Officers responding to calls of a fight found Liming's body in a parking lot near the basketball court at the school at 400 W. Market St.

I Promise School: Ethan Liming, 17, killed near basketball courts at I Promise School in Akron

Akron Public Schools said Liming was a "rising senior" at Firestone Community Learning Center and was in the school's Academy of Design.

The death comes on the heels of a shooting at a vigil earlier in the week in Akron's North Hill neighborhood that left one man dead and a teenager and another man wounded.

LeBron, who personally dedicated the basketball court in 2019, turned to Twitter to offer his condolences.

"Our condolences goes out to the family who lost a loved one," he wrote. "(May) the heavens above watch over you during this tragedy!

"Pray for our community!"

The school, which is a collaboration between the LeBron James Family Foundation and Akron Public Schools, had its last classes of the school year on May 25.

Craig Webb can be reached at cwebb@thebeaconournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: LeBron James asks followers to pray after I Promise School death