Officials say Joe McKnight was shot three times — in the hand, shoulder and chest — and insist the shooter was not standing over the Saskatchewan Roughriders player.
The 28-year-old CFL and NFL running back died Thursday afternoon following what was described as a traffic argument at an intersection in a suburb of New Orleans.
Authorities said 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, the man they identified as having fatally shot McKnight, was released from custody overnight.
Gasser is not currently facing charges. The case is still under investigation.
Joe McNnight, from a 2013 photo when he was with the New York Jets, played most recently in the CFL with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Officials in Louisiana said he was shot to death following an argument at an intersection with another motorist on Thursday. (Associated Press)
Information about the shooting was released by officials in Louisiana on Friday, and included details on an autopsy.
A coroner said there was one gunshot wound to McKnight's left hand. A second bullet hit McKnight in the right shoulder. A third hit his chest and exited through his lower back.
An official who was present during the autopsy was adamant that the wounds were not consistent with the being shot from above or while on the ground.
Officials respond to reports
The observation about how McKnight was not shot from above was also repeated by the local sheriff.
"Mr. Gasser did not stand over Mr. McKnight and fire shots into him," Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said Friday at a media conference. "Mr. Gasser was in his vehicle when he fired three shots."
Normand was responding to various media reports, which included comments from people about what may have transpired Thursday afternoon in Terrytown, La.
Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand at a news conference Friday. (CBC)
"We're not going to reveal at this point in time any of the details of this investigation," Normand said. "We just finished the autopsy roughly two hours ago, which is a very important portion of the investigation, and it would be completely premature in this kind of case ... to reveal anything prior to that."
A grandmother of McKnight said family members were still seeking information on his death.
Barbara Franklin said Friday that relatives are "trying to find out our own selves" more about what happened.
She added they were aware, through news reports, that the man who shot McKnight had been released.
"He might be released now, but God is going to bring about justice in it," Franklin said of Gasser's release.
No footage of incident
During the Friday media conference, local authorities said that no video associated with the incident had surfaced.
Sheriff Normand also said his investigators had not corroborated, from any witnesses, that McKnight had offered an apology to Gasser during the traffic argument.
"We've had as many as 30 to 40 officers working this investigation through the night," he added. "And we will continue to work."
Team in shock
"It's shocking. It's sad. It's devastating," Craig Reynolds, president and CEO of the Roughriders, said Friday in Regina. McKnight had landed in the city as a running back in September after a stint with the Edmonton Eskimos.
"You just feel for Joe and his family. He's got a young son."
Reynolds said the organization was initially in disbelief when the news emerged Thursday afternoon. He said they confirmed that McKnight was dead through a contact in New Orleans.
Saskatchewan Roughriders president and CEO Craig Reynolds said the team will find a way to honour Joe McKnight who was shot to death Thursday in a suburb of New Orleans. (CBC)
He added that many players live elsewhere during the off-season.
"The players are dispersed everywhere so it's very difficult and that's why we want to do everything we possibly can to support the players, " he said.
Even though McKnight joined the Riders late in the season, Reynolds said he quickly formed tight bonds with other players.
"He was a very humble guy. He was extremely well liked," he said.
Reynolds noted McKnight had strong performances on the field for the Riders and had a bright future.
"He had all the potential in the world," Reynolds said.
Reynolds said the club will look for a way to honour McKnight in some form, in the future.
McKnight finished the 2016 CFL season with 228 rushing yards and 80 receiving yards over five games with Edmonton and Saskatchewan. He played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs before moving to the CFL.
Shot in Terrytown
The shooting happened at about 3 p.m. CST Thursday in Terrytown, a suburb of New Orleans, just across the Mississippi River.
McKnight is the second former NFL player this year to die in the New Orleans area as a result of a possible road-rage incident.
Former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith was killed in April in a shooting that was sparked by a traffic altercation.
It is also the second violent death this year involving a CFL player. In September, Calgary Stampeder Mylan Hicks died following an early-morning shooting outside a Calgary nightclub.
A 19-year-old man is facing a murder charge in that case.
Details emerge on Joe McKnight shooting
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