MOSCOW, Idaho — A University of Idaho football player was shot to death and police arrested two brothers from Seattle after a car chase that extended across two states.
Eric McMillan, 19, was pronounced dead early Monday at an area hospital, Moscow police Capt. Cam Hershaw said. McMillan was a starting cornerback for the Vandals and played Saturday against Washington State. A motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.
Idaho players will wear a decal with McMillan's initials on their helmets when they play at Oregon on Saturday, coach Nick Holt said Tuesday.
Holt canceled practice Monday but said returning Tuesday would be a form of therapy for the Vandals.
"Practice might be the best thing for what our team is going through," Holt said in a conference call. "I know Eric would want us to practice.
"He was a competitor and he would want us to compete."
A memorial service is planned Wednesday in Moscow, and Oregon officials have asked Holt if the Vandals would like a moment of silence for McMillan prior to the game, Holt said.
"We thought that would be a good idea if it is available to us," Holt said.
Police responding to a report of gunshots Sunday afternoon arrived at McMillan's house to find someone had already taken him to the hospital, Hershaw said.
Based on a description and license plate number given by witnesses who saw a car speeding from McMillan's home, sheriff's deputies pursued the vehicle, officials said.
A spike strip across a highway ended the chase several hours and jurisdictions later. Matthew R. Wells II, 27, and James J. Wells, 25, of Seattle, were arrested Sunday night on Interstate 90 near Vantage, Wash., about 150 miles west of Moscow.
The brothers, former football standouts at a high school in Seattle, were being held in a Washington jail for investigation of felony attempted eluding. Bail was set at $75,000 each, prosecutor Denis Tracy said.
Arrest warrants for first-degree murder were issued for the men from Latah County, Idaho.
McMillan, a redshirt freshman from Murrieta, Calif., had three tackles in Idaho's 49-8 loss to Washington State on Saturday. He is survived by two sisters, one of whom is his twin, Paull said.