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— Kansas
City Chiefs linebacker Jovan
Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend Saturday, then drove to Arrowhead
Stadium and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager.
Authorities
did not release a possible motive for the murder-suicide, though police said
that Belcher and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra M. Perkins, had been
arguing recently. The two of them have a 3-month-old child.
Belcher
thanked general manager Scott Pioli and coach Romeo Crennel before shooting
himself in the parking lot of the team’s practice facility, police spokesman
Darin Snapp said. Police had locked it down by mid-morning and reporters were
confined to the street just outside the gates.
The
Chiefs were scheduled to play the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Arrowhead
Stadium. The Panthers were advised by the league to travel to Kansas City as
planned, though no official announcement on the game itself had been made.
Belcher
was a 25-year-old native of West Babylon, N.Y., on Long Island, who played college
ball at Maine. He signed with the Chiefs as an undrafted free agent, made the
team and stayed with it for four years, moving into the starting lineup. He’d
played in all 11 games this season.
“The
entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today’s events, and our collective
hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and
friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy,” Chiefs chairman Clark Hunt said
in a statement.
“We
sincerely appreciate the expressions of sympathy and support we have received
from so many in the Kansas City and NFL communities, and ask for continued
prayers for the loved ones of those impacted,” Hunt said. “We will continue to
fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counseling
resources are available to all members of the organization.”
The
NFL released a statement that also expressed sympathy and said, “we have
connected the Chiefs with our national team of professional counselors to
support both the team and the families of those affected. We will continue to
provide assistance in any way that we can.”
Authorities
reported receiving a call Saturday morning from a woman who said her daughter
had been shot multiple times at a residence about five miles away from the
Arrowhead complex. The call actually came from Belcher’s mother, who referred
to the victim as her daughter, leading to some initial confusion, police said.
“She
treated Kasandra like a daughter,” Snapp explained. Belcher’s mother, who is
from New York, had recently moved in with the couple, “probably to help out
with the baby,” Snapp said.
Police
then received a phone call from the Chiefs’ training facility.
“The
description matched the suspect description from that other address. We kind of
knew what we were dealing with,” Snapp said. The player was “holding a gun to
his head” as he stood in front of the front doors of the practice facility.
“And
there were Pioli and Crennel and another coach or employee was standing outside
and appeared to be talking to him. It appeared they were talking to the
suspect,” Snapp said. “The suspect began to walk in the opposite direction of
the coaches and the officers and that’s when they heard the gunshot. It appears
he took his own life.”
The
coaches told police they never felt in any danger, Snapp said.
“They
said the player was actually thanking them for everything they’d done for him,”
he said. “They were just talking to him and he was thanking them and
everything. That’s when he walked away and shot himself.”
At
Belcher’s mother’s home on Long Island, relatives declined to talk to
reporters. A purple SUV in the home’s driveway was flying a small Kansas City
Chiefs flag.
Perkin’s
Facebook page shows the couple smiling and holding the baby.
Belcher
is the latest among several players and NFL retirees to die from self-inflicted
gunshot wounds in the past couple of years. The death of the beloved star
Junior Seau, who shot himself in the chest in at his California home last May,
sent shockwaves around the league. Seau’s family, like those of other suicide
victims, has donated brain tissue from the linebacker’s body for research to
determine if head injuries he sustained playing football might be linked to his
death.
Kansas
City Mayor Sly James said that he spoke to Pioli after the shooting, and while
he refused to discuss the GM’s emotional state, the mayor said Pioli was
“extremely concerned that fans of this team are not disappointed and not left
in the cold.”
“I
think they think there’s an obligation to the people of this city, the fans of
the team and the fans of the other team to play the game,” James said.
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 marked by injuries, poor play and fan upheaval, with calls for
Pioli and Crennel to be fired.
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.
“His
move to the NFL was in keeping with his dreams,” says Cosgrove. “This is an
indescribably horrible tragedy.”
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The
LORD shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart:
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And thy life shall hang
in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none
assurance of thy life:
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