Former football player charged with murder of Portland student Amara Marluke after surrendering to police

Police say Keenan Harpole, 20, turned himself in hours after Marluke was shot dead

A photo handout of 19-year-old Amara Marluke, who was killed (Portland Police)

A former college football player has been charged with the murder of Portland State University student Amara Marluke after surrendering to police.

Ms Marluke, 19, was shot on early Monday morning near the campus in Portland’s downtown in what police called a domestic violence incident.

Police said 20-year-old Keenan Harpole turned himself in following the shooting on Monday and is cooperating with investigators.

Mr Harpole was charged with second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon, and an investigation into what happened is ongoing.

In a statement on Tuesday, Portland State University (PSU) said Mr Harpole, who previously played as a running back on its football team, still studied at the campus in Oregon’s biggest city.

Mr Harpole’s relationship to Ms Marluke was not immediately clear.

Keenan Harpole has been charged with the murder of Portland college student Amara Marluke (Portland State University Athletics)

“It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I write to you today with details about yesterday’s tragic shooting that took place near our campus,” said PSU president Stephen Percy. “As we shared, a woman was killed at around 1 a.m. yesterday morning.“

Ms Marluke was described as “an artist and an activist and a vibrant member of our community.”

Mr Percy said: “Her death is mourned by all of us. I am profoundly affected by the sheer tragedy of this loss. My heart breaks for Amara’s family and for everyone who knew her. I offer my deepest sympathies. We will work together as a campus community to heal.”

Tributes were also paid to Ms Marluke by those who knew her, including the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District, with who she worked on community outreach projects. The organisation said she “was an incredible young woman, an inspiring community activist, and a treasured friend to many of us at THPRD” in a Facebook post.

Others praised Ms Marluke for her work as a co-president of the Black Student’s Union at PSU, with professor Bright Alozie writing on Facebook: “I knew Amara personally both as my student, who took a previous class I offered and as one of the exceutives I frequently interacted with in our conversations to further interests of Black students at PSU.”

“She was so excited that I taught Women in African history last term and had planned to sign up for my Protests, Activism, and People Power class this term,” he added.”This loss is heartbreaking and tragic and I hope we all heal. My prayers are with Amara’s family in this moment of loss.”