The girlfriend of World B. Free, the 76ers ambassador to basketball, was shot and killed in Brooklyn, N.Y. last night.

According to a story today in The New York Daily News, police and relatives said that Audrey Johnson, 51, was shot in the head after her niece's ex-con boyfriend was jumped outside the family's home. The gunfire occurred outside the family's Clifton Place home after two men attacked Laquan Williams, 25, who is the boyfriend of Audrey Johnson's niece, police and family said. There were conflicting reports as to whether Audrey Johnson was a bystander or was shot in cold blood, according to the News.

Free spent 13 years as a player in the NBA, including a stint with the Sixers. He is a common face at games and is instrumental in the Sixers Summer Camp program. He grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn where he became a playground legend.