Idaho football coach Robb Akey said he was "sick to death with what has happened," after he received the news early Sunday morning that one of his players, receiver Ken McRoyal, had been shot to death at a weekend party in Los Angeles.

McRoyal, a walk-on for the Vandals last fall after transferring from El Camino College in Torrance, Calif. He had impressed coaches this spring to the point where he was put on scholarship and named a starting slot receiver.

McRoyal, from Carson, Calif., stopped by Akey's office last week before leaving for his home in the L.A. area.

"I was glad I was able to tell him how much he meant to me before he left," Akey said.

Police detectives were working Monday to determine a motive and find the killer.

McRoyal, 22, was killed early Sunday while attending a photo shoot to promote a new woman's clothing line, police Detective Victor Marin said.

"Whether he was invited or not, we don't know," Marin said.

Early police reports indicated McRoyal was shot when he got into an argument with a group of people, but Marin said investigators hadn't confirmed whether there was any altercation.

A second man was wounded and treated at a hospital.

Investigators planned to interview the 40 to 50 people who attended the party, Marin said.

The event was being held at the Brewery Arts Complex, a former Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery near the Los Angeles River that has been converted into artists' lofts and is frequently used as a filming location.

Akey and his coaching staff have spent the past couple of days contacting Vandal players, who are spread throughout the country with the spring semester over and summer classes still a few weeks away.

"All of them are feeling a loss," Akey said. "But that loss is minimal to a family that has lost a family member, a momma that lost her son on Mother's Day, and a little girl that's not going to have an opportunity to have a daddy."

Akey said services would be May 23 in Los Angeles, then McRoyal would be buried in his hometown of New Orleans. Akey said plans were for himself and team captains to attend the services.

McRoyal caught six passes for 35 yards in eight games for Idaho in 2011. He was a native of New Orleans and moved with his family to California after Hurricane Katrina. He attended high school in suburban Carson.

"He had a lot of shake-it-up ability," Akey said. "Initially you see a whole lot of teeth, a big smile ... he brought a lot of spark."

Akey said Idaho quarterback Dominique Blackman, a cousin of McRoyal, was key in getting McRoyal to come to Moscow. Akey said he spoke with Blackman several times in the past couple of days.

"I tucked him in last night over the phone and woke him up this morning," Akey said Monday.

Akey said when Blackman found out he was going to address the media, "He wanted me to let you know that I love Ken McRoyal - he was the brother I never had," Akey said.

"They took somebody who meant a lot to our family and not only to our family but to a lot, to college football, to this community," Blackman told KCAL-TV.

Blackman said McRoyal texted him just minutes before the shooting.

"I was the last person he talked to ... telling me where he's at and saying to come to Hollywood, but I wasn't there for him. I told him I couldn't find a ride."