MYFOXNY.COM -
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and killed himself this morning after he fatally shot his girlfriend Saturday morning.
Belcher, 25, from West Babylon, NY, shot himself in front of head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli outside of Arrowhead Stadium, according to police.
Pioli and Crennel confronted Belcher in the stadium's parking lot and while they were talking to him, he walked in the opposite direction and shot himself in the head, according to local television station.
Belcher thanked Pioli and Crennel for all they had done for him before he turned the gun on himself, according to police spokesman Darin Snapp.
Authorities say they received a call around 7:50 a.m. from a woman who said her daughter had been shot multiple times at a home on Crysler Avenue, about five miles away from Arrowhead Stadium.
Snapp said police arrived and found the victim, 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins with multiple gunshot wounds. Perkins was taken to a local hospital, where she died a short time later, according to Snapp.
Police say they received a desperate call from the Chiefs' practice facility at around 8:10 am.
Snapp said Belcher 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," said Snapp.
Belcher was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police said the coaches felt they were never endangered. The stadium has been in lockdown since about 8:00 a.m.
According to police, Perkins' mother said Belcher and his girlfriend had recently been arguing. Belcher and Perkins recently had a baby girl, Zoey, born on September 11.
Belcher starred for West Babylon High School where he led them to an undefeated regular season in 2004. He was also a three-time All-American as a high school wrestler.
He went on to play for the University of Maine where he was named the 2008 CAA Conference defensive player of the year and graduated with a degree in child development and family relations.
The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker was in his fourth season with the Chiefs — his third as a full-time starter after joining the squad as an undrafted free agent.
Belcher started 10 of the 11 games he played this season for the Chiefs, making 38 tackles, and appeared in all 16 games each of his previous three seasons, recording 257 tackles and one sack in his career.
