Teen Fatally Beaten on Soccer Field After His Team Scored Goal and Opponents Got Angry, Family Says
Teen Fatally Beaten on Soccer Field After His Team Scored Goal and Opponents Got Angry, Family Says
Samira Asma-SadequeTue, August 18, 2026 at 5:58 PM UTC
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Tumusifu Bazirake.Credit: gofundme -
Tumusifu Bazirake, 19, died days after he was taken to the hospital on Aug. 6 in extremely critical condition, authorities said
Bazirake’s brother says the opposing team’s players initially attacked him and Bazirake was killed while trying to protect him
The assailants then fled the scene; police have not identified any suspects
An Arizona family is mourning their teen son who died during a soccer match earlier this month.
Tumusifu Bazirake, 19, died in the hospital on Aug. 6, days after he was brutally beaten by multiple people on a soccer field, according to a statement from the Phoenix Police Department.
On Aug. 6, fire department officials responding to a report of an unresponsive individual learned Bazirake was “involved in a soccer game when a fight broke out,” per the statement. Several people are accused of assaulting Bazirake before fleeing the scene, but no suspects have been identified as of Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Bazirake’s brother told local outlet WKYC that Bazirake died protecting him during escalating tension stemming from a goal their team scored.
“We scored on them, and they got mad,” said Jeanpaul, identified only by his first name in the outlet.
Players on the opposing team allegedly began punching him and Bazirake intervened to protect him, Jeanpaul said.
At one point, Jeanpaul said, when he tried to turn around, he saw his brother on the ground. “They were just stepping on him while he’s on the ground,” he said, per the outlet. “Stepping, kicking, punching—all that.”
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Responding officers found Bazirake at the scene and transferred him to a hospital in “extremely critical condition,” according to Phoenix police; they said they were notified on Thursday that he had succumbed to his injuries.
Tumusifu Bazirake.Credit: gofundme
Bazirake was killed just a week before he was about to start college, according to his family, who has since set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.
Jeanpaul told WKYC that his brother aspired to become a firefighter.
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Authorities are investigating the death as a homicide.
Investigators are urging anyone who may have information to call the Phoenix Police Department or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS/ 480-TESTIGO (Spanish)
on People
Source: “AOL Sports”
