According to Albany Police, Richard Bailey, 22, of Wantagh was fatally shot in the head late Monday night on Oct. 20.

Public Information Officer Jim Miller said officers found Bailey, a University at Albany student, unresponsive on the sidewalk, bleeding from his head.

"He was transported immediately to Albany Medical Center, where he was put on life support," Miller said. "He was taken off [life support] around 1 p.m. on Tuesday."

He was allegedly walking home from a friend's house to his off-campus apartment. There were witnesses who saw two younger men on bicycles, riding away from area of shooting scene, Miller reported.

"We don't know at this point if they were connected or not, but we would like to try to locate them because they could potentially be witnesses or provide some information of what they saw," he said.

Police said that nothing was taken from Bailey, "but that doesn't mean it wasn't an attempted robbery."

"It's hard to say, until we can find out who was involved," Miller added.

MacAthur High School Principal John Bifalco said Bailey was a class of 2004 graduate.

"We are all saddened and shocked by such a senseless loss of life so young," he said. "It is difficult for all of us to understand how this could happen."

Bifalco said he remembered Bailey as a very good student and a fun-loving individual with a strong character.

"He always had a smile on his face," Bifalco recalled.

A strong athlete, Bailey was a member of MacArthur's 2002 county champion football team and again on the 2003 team.

"He was a critical member of our varsity baseball team also," Bifalco said. "He hit a grand slam homerun in the playoffs in 2003 in a critical at bat. We happened to have excellent teams during those years in football and baseball and he was one of the elite players on those teams."

Bailey is survived by his parents, James and Lisa, and his sister, Katelyn, as well as several other family members. Arrangements were made by Dalton Funeral Home in Levittown and a funeral Mass was held on Monday, Oct. 27 at St. Bernard R.C. Church. Interment was at St. Charles Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Make a Wish Foundation in his memory would be appreciated.