US: The eldest sister of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams was fatally shot early yesterday in a Los Angeles suburb, according to the LA police.
The 31-year-old woman, who police identified as Yetunde Price, was shot about 12:15 a.m. in Compton, a poverty-ridden community about 20 miles south of Los Angeles, said Los Angeles Sheriff's Deputy Alba Yates.
The suspected homicide was thought to have occurred after a confrontation between neighbourhood residents and Ms Price, who was in a white vehicle with an unidentified man, the deputy said.
Sheriff deputies and a gang squad from the local Compton police department had initially surrounded a house near the shooting where it was believed between one and three suspects were barricaded, police said.
It was determined about noon yesterday that the suspects had fled the building prior to the arrival of police.
Ms Price died of gunshot wounds to her upper torso a short time later at a local hospital.
She was the owner of a Los Angeles area beauty salon, worked as a personal assistant to her two sisters, and was the mother of three children, the Williams' family attorney Mr Keven Davis said.
"Obviously, all the family are very devastated and shocked by this news," Mr Davis said, adding that family members were on their way to Los Angeles.
"We are asking people to respect the family's privacy. In trying to get as much information as we can . . . We are trying to work to get to the bottom of this," Mr Davis said.
Investigators were trying to determine why Ms Price and her companion were in the area as well as a motive for the shooting.
Ms Price was not a resident of Compton but lived in nearby Corona, California.
Venus Williams, 23, and Serena Williams who will turn 22 on September 26th, are the youngest of five daughters of Richard and Oracene Williams who are divorced.
The family spent their early years in the Los Angeles area but later moved to Florida where the two tennis champions attended a training camp for the most promising young players.
Serena Williams, currently the number one tennis player in the world, has also worked as a film actress.
She is slated to play a reformed gang member on parole in an upcoming guest appearance on the Showtime cable network series Street Time.
Venus is the winner of two Wimbledon and two US Open singles titles. She was also a 2000 Olympics singles and doubles (with Serena) gold medalist.