Other Sport
Kansas player commits suicide
2012-12-01 19:34
Kansas City - A 25-year-old Kansas City Chiefs NFL player fatally shot his girlfriend early on Saturday, then drove
to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of two team
officials, police said.
Police spokesperson Darin Snapp said the
player killed his girlfriend and then went to the team practice
facility, where he shot himself. He did not identify either the player
or his victim.
Before turning the gun on himself, the player
thanked Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel for all
they had done for him, Snapp said.
Authorities received a call
on Saturday morning from a woman who said her daughter had been shot
multiple times at a residence about 5km away
from the Arrowhead complex. Snapp said a call was then received from the
Chiefs' facility.
Upon arriving, Snapp said that police
witnessed a black male in a car with a handgun to his head talking to
two Chiefs officials. That's when police heard a gunshot. Arrowhead
Stadium has been on lockdown since about 08:00 Kansas time.
"We can confirm
that there was an incident at Arrowhead earlier this morning," the
Chiefs said in a statement. "We are cooperating with authorities in
their investigation."
Kansas City is scheduled to host the
Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The league has informed the Panthers to
travel as scheduled because the game is going on as scheduled.
The season has been a massive disappointment for the Chiefs, who were expected to contend for the AFC West title.
They're
just 1-10 and mired in an eight-game losing streak that has been marked
by devastating injuries and fan upheaval, with constant calls the past
few weeks for Pioli and Crennel to be fired. Things have been so bad
this season that Crennel fired himself as defensive coordinator.
The
Chiefs have been ravaged by injuries, led the league in turnovers,
can't settle on a quarterback and are dealing with a full-fledged fan
rebellion. The Twitter account for a fan group known as "Save Our
Chiefs" recently surpassed 80 000 followers, about 17 000 more than the
announced crowd at a recent game.