Teens accused of robbing, killing Ind. Basketball Hall of Famer arrested: police

GARY, Ind. (WLS) -- Two teens accused of robbing and killing a 70-year-old man at a gas station in Gary are in custody, according to Gary police.

To say Wallace Broadnax was well known in the City of Gary is an understatement.

"You could not find a nicer guy," said Broadnax's daughter Carmelita Perry.

Broadnax was born and raised in Gary. Among many things, he is known as a family man, a hall of fame basketball star, a retired fireman, and a friend to many.

"You are not going to find anyone that will say anything bad about Wallace," Perry said.

The 70-year-old was man shot and killed on Saturday morning after he was allegedly gunned down by two juveniles during an armed robbery at this gas station on Grant Street, according to police.

"I do not know what was on those kids minds," Perry said.

The gas station is the same spot he always stopped at to pick up a morning paper as part of his daily routine on his way into his family's funeral home.

For the first time in nearly 40 years, he did not show up to work.

His grandson kept trying to call him.

"I still have the call log. I called him 12,13 times. I just could not believe it," said Broadnax grandson Edward Perry III. "I just wanted him to pick up the phone. He always picks up for me."

Broadnax was a fireman in Gary for 25 years, as well as a member of the 1968 Roosevelt high school state basketball championship team which led to him later being inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

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He eventually went on to play ball overseas.

"That was my main man. Everything. Sports, life, anything I could think of I could always go to him," his grandson said.

His loved ones said he was always there to support his grandkids, nudging them to be the best they could be.

"It was amazing," his granddaughter Erin Perry said.

The Broadnax family said he would have even tried to help the kids who took his life.

"They do not need to be treated as kids. They did something horrific and changed the trajectory of our lives. And they changed their lives," Broadnax's daughter said. "I am sorry they did that. I do not have any sympathy."