Williams sisters 'devastated' by sister's shooting

Venus and Serena Williams were today in mourning after their elder sister was shot dead in the Los Angeles borough of Compton over the weekend.

Yetunde Price, who was 31, died in hospital after receiving a wound in the upper torso.

“We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde,” the Williams family said in a statement.

“Yetunde was a loving mother, daughter, sister and friend. Our grief is overwhelming, and this is the saddest day of our lives.”

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Price had been travelling in a white sports utility vehicle with a man, and the pair became embroiled in a row with a group of local residents.

A spokeswoman for the LASD said: “Detectives were on patrol when they heard multiple gunshots.

“They went to the scene and discovered that a man and a woman had been involved in an incident with local residents.

“This led to gunfire and the victim died of upper torso injuries just after midnight.”

Price, who adopted her mother’s name when Richard and Oracene Williams, parents of five sisters, divorced in 2002, was a personal assistant of her younger tennis-playing siblings.

“Homicide investigators and detectives are on the scene and attempting to find the exact circumstances of the incident,” added the spokeswoman.

The incident took place on the 1100 block of Greenleaf Boulevard in Compton.

The Williams sisters all grew up in Compton, a district of Los Angeles where gang warfare was and still is rife, but Yetunde did not share the same talent or appetite for tennis as Venus and Serena.

Venus and Serena have since moved away to live in Florida, although Yetunde lived more locally.

She was, according to the WTA Tour’s latest handbook, a business management major and registered nurse.

But she would regularly accompany her younger sisters around the world and was often seen at grand slam tournaments, playing a support role to Venus, 23, and Serena, 21.

“This is sad and very tragic news,” WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott said in a statement. “The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the WTA Tour are with the entire Williams family at this difficult time.”

Venus and Serena have been a tennis sensation, and both have been ranked number one in the world.

Between them, they have won 10 grand slam titles since 1999.

Both are currently out of action with injuries, and missed the recent US Open.

Serena is currently the Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, and is ranked third in the world by the WTA, with Venus ranked sixth.