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White man who gunned down black ex-NFL player in road rage case released without charges

Travis Gettys
December 02, 2016

A man who shot and killed a former NFL player during an apparent road rage incident has been released without charges.

UPDATE: 'Stop believing what you’re reading': Sheriff says don’t rush to judgment over Joe McKnight killing

ALSO SEE: White man who shot and killed Joe McKnight was involved in road rage incident at same location a decade ago

Joe McKnight, a former New Orleans high school star, was shot dead about 3 p.m. Thursday during an argument at an intersection in Terrytown, reported The Times-Picayune.

A witness said she saw a man, later identified as 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, yelling at the 28-year-old McKnight, who was attempting to apologize.

Witnesses said Gasser, who is white, pulled McKnight, who is black, from his Audi, argued with him and then shot him more than once as he stood over him.

"I told you not to f*ck with me," Gasser said, before firing once more at McKnight as he lay on the ground.

McKnight, who last played in the NFL in 2014, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Gasser was taken to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office for questioning but was released overnight without charges, reported The Advocate.

Deputies said the fatal shooting remains under investigation.

Investigators said McKnight, who was named the Times-Picayune's male athlete of the decade in 2009 after a standout career at John Curtis Christian School, was not armed at the time of his death.

No other guns were found outside his vehicle.

Witnesses said Gasser and McKnight had exchanged words before the confrontation at the intersection of Behrman Highway and Holmes Boulevard.

Louisiana's "stand your ground" law permits deadly force if the shooter believes they're in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm.

Cardell Hayes, who fatally shot NFL player Will Smith earlier in April in another New Orleans road rage case, is expected to claim self-defense under that statute, which was passed in 2005.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand provided some details of the shooting death on Thursday. Watch video, courtesy of The Times-Picayune, below:

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