LANCASTER, S.C. -- A former professional baseball player was shot and killed during an argument early Tuesday morning in Lancaster, and the alleged shooter has turned himself in.
Police say 36-year-old Derrick Lamont Mcilwain of Lancaster shot Danny Clyburn, Jr. during an argument at a home on North Market Street shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday.
The police report says Mcilwain then knocked on a neighbor’s door and confessed to the shooting.
Clyburn Jr., 37, starred at Lancaster High School and played three seasons in the major leagues with the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the late 1990s. He started his career in the minors after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Relatives say Clyburn Jr. lived in California and came home over the weekend to visit friends and family.
He brought a Bible with him on the trip.
“He was trying to change for the better,” said Clyburn’s father Danny Clyburn, Sr. “Like people do when they get older.”
Friends and relatives say Clyburn Jr. and Mcilwain knew each other for years. They would argue at times but ended up friends by the end of the night, Clyburn Sr. said.
“Every time they’d see each other, they’d go back and forth like that. But it might have gotten a little too far out of hand this time,” Clyburn Sr. added.
Police say neighbors heard loud music and loud talking between Mcilwain and Clyburn Jr., and then heard a gunshot. Police aren’t saying what they were arguing about.
Mcilwain later turned himself in on Tuesday. He is charged with murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.
Clyburn Jr. finished playing professional baseball in 1999. In total, he played in 41 career major league games, hit four home runs and had a lifetime batting average of .211 as an outfielder.
