Waters and Owens were so close, many thought they were brother and sister. Both recent high school graduates and former basketball players, the pair was shot in an alley on the South Side Saturday afternoon.
Owens is in good condition. Waters is in more serious condition.
Christina Waters was scheduled to leave next week for her freshman year in college, but that is not going to happen. Instead, the 18-year-old is in Christ Hospital. Waters and Owens were shot as they were leaving a church picnic.
"They were walking back to where their car was parked. They were walking through the alley. From my understanding, they saw the guy that was approaching them. But how often do you think somebody is just going to pull out a gun and start shooting," Waters' former coach Sha Hopson said.
Waters was shot in the head, Owens in the buttocks. Both played basketball at Von Steuban High School on the North Side. Hopson says Waters and Owens were inseparable throughout their high school years and continued to be after graduation.
"They were such close friends that they called each other play brother and sister," Hopson said.
Hopson says she and several teammates rushed to Waters' hospital bedside over the weekend.
"For her just to still be alive is just God's grace and mercy," Hopson said.
Hopson is hopeful for her former player's prognosis. Based on her character in high school, she says Waters has a very bright future.
"Christina was a great student, a great kid, a wonderful person to be around, never confrontational, never had anything back to say as far as in the basketball arena when you were coaching her," she said.
Waters had plans to attend University of Northern Virginia. Her coach says she is not sure Waters had plans to play basketball there.
Hopson says Waters and Owens do not know who shot them.
Police have made no arrests in the case.
