Former NFL defensive lineman Will Smith was shot and killed in an apparent road rage incident in New Orleans late Saturday, authorities said.
New Orleans Coroner Jeffrey C. Rouse confirmed early Sunday the male victim in the double shooting was Smith, 34, according to WVUE-TV. Police said the shooting occurred around 11:30 p.m. in the Lower Garden District at the intersection of Sophie Wright Place and Felicity Streets.
Investigators said Smith and his wife were driving a Mercedes Benz SUV eastbound on Sophie Wright Place when he was rear-ended by an individual driving a Hummer H2. The collision caused the Mercedes to hit a Chevrolet Impala traveling along the same street, The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.
New Orleans Police Department spokesman Juan Barnes said Smith and the driver of the Hummer got into a confrontation over the accident when the driver of the Hummer pulled out a handgun and “shot the (Smith) multiple times and his wife twice in the right leg.”
The Times-Picayune reported Smith was pronounced dead at the scene and his wife was transported to a local hospital. Police said the 30-year-old Hummer driver is in custody and was being questioned by investigators. The firearm used in the shooting has been recovered.
The gunman has yet to be identified.
Janis Baehr, a tourist in town for a local festival, told the paper she was walking near in the intersection and heard six gunshots. She said the woman appeared to have two gunshot wounds in her leg. The woman was taken away by an ambulance.
According to the paper, Smith was found slumped over his steering wheel in the vehicle. The SUV appeared to have a gunshot hole in the windshield.
The Orleans Parish coroner was still investigating the scene as of early Sunday morning.
Smith last played for the New Orleans Saints in 2012. He spent his entire nine-year career with the Saints and won a Super Bowl with the team in 2010.
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