UCLA sends touching gift to Utah after passing of Aaron Lowe
After the fatal shooting of Utah football player Aaron Lowe, UCLA sent their conference rival a touching gift in honor of their loss. The gift was a black and white photo of Lowe waving his school’s flag, with a message signed by the players and staff of UCLA.
UCLA has Utah in thoughts after Aaron Lowe’s passing
Early Sunday morning, Utah defensive back Aaron Lowe was shot and killed. News originally broke of a deadly shooting, and Salt Lake City Police later confirmed that Lowe was the victim and had passed away from his wounds.
“We are devastated to hear about the passing of Aaron Lowe,” said Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham in an official statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Aaron’s family and friends, along with the other individual who was harmed in this tragic incident. Aaron was a great teammate, friend, brother and son and was loved by anyone who crossed paths with him. He will be deeply missed.”
As support for the Utah Utes continues to pour in from the PAC-12, UCLA sent the program a tribute of their own.
“This is incredibly meaningful, @UCLAFootball,” shared Utah in a post made on Twitter. “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”
Aaron Lowe at Utah
Utah tragically lost another player from its football program in December of last year, when running back Ty Jordan was killed after suffering a gunshot wound. Lowe was best friends with Jordan, and Utah awarded him with the first scholarship in remembrance of Jordan.
Lowe switched his jersey number from No. 2 to No. 22 in remembrance of Jordan. Jordan and Lowe were also teammates in high school.
“Ty made everyone around him better,” Lowe said when Utah announced that he would receive the first Ty Jordan scholarship. “He made me better. My friendship with Ty means a lot because he was always pushing me to be my best. He never let me settle for less. I want to make sure his legacy lives on through me.”
A former three-star recruit, Lowe totaled 74 tackles, four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and three interceptions as a senior at West Mesquite High School in Texas.
On3’s Jonathan Wagner contributed to this article.