A name has been added to reports of a Chiefs player who is said to have killed his girlfriend and then himself Saturday morning.
Jovan Belcher, 25, shot his girlfriend around 8 a.m. at a house in Kansas City then drove to the team’s practice facility, where he was seen with members of the coaching staff before he shot himself, according to several sources who said they have talked with police. A Kansas City Police Department spokesman later confirmed that Belcher was the player in the incident. He also said the coaches were never in danger.
Belcher went to college at the University of Maine.
Head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli were the ones outside the team facility when Belcher killed himself, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, who said Belcher thanked them both before firing the shot. Police, who were called by the mother of the woman who was killed earlier that morning, had just arrived at the facility when they heard the shot, according to the police department.
Canfora also reported that the Chiefs are “shocked,” saying Belcher had “no history of anything like this,” and that he and his girlfriend had recently had a child.
Details were few throughout the morning, with the Chiefs only confirming that an incident had happened.
Belcher’s death was confirmed shortly after noon. Chiefs players have been arriving at Arrowhead Stadium and are being told about the situation, according to Pro Football Talk. The Chiefs are scheduled to host the Panthers on Sunday, but there has been no word on whether the NFL is considering rescheduling the game.
A spokesman from the Kansas City Police Department gives more details in this video.
Photo via Facebook/Jovan Belcher
