Joe McKnight killed after ex-NFL star gunned down while trying to APOLOGISE during road rage row

FORMER NFL running back Joe McKnight was allegedly gunned down by a white man, 54, who shot him as he tried to APOLOGISE following a road rage argument.

McKnight, who played for the New York Jets and the Kansas City Chiefs, was gunned down yesterday afternoon after a bust-up at a busy junction.

AP:Associated Press

The body of former NFL player Joe McKnight lies between the shooter’s vehicle, left, and his Audi, right[/caption]

Ronald Gasser was taken into custody after the shooting, and is being questioned by detectives.

According to police, the 54-year-old never left the scene of the shooting and handed over his gun.

The shooting occurred at about 3pm at the intersection of Behrman Highway and Holmes Boulevard, according to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

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McKnight was gunned down during a road rage row[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand consoles a woman at the scene[/caption]

A witness told Nola.com she saw a man yelling at a man thought to be McKnight, who was attempting to apologise – before the man fired several shots and said:  “I told you don’t you f*** with me.”

The former Jets running back’s family members identified him at the scene.

 

Police said McKnight was not armed at the time – and other witnesses reported seeing the man pull McKnight from his Audi;

The alleged shooter’s sister, Sharon Weileman, told Nola.com: “He’s the best guy, the most generous guy. I have no idea what happened. I can’t even talk right now.”

Meanwhile, McKnight’s stepfather, Elmo Lee, said: “I just want people to know that this was not a troubled kid. The boy was just trying to make it back in the NFL, that’s all he wanted to do.

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Family members identified the 28-year-old at the scene[/caption]

"That was his whole dream since six years old. I've been knowing him from six, and this is just senseless, and it has to stop. Somewhere it has to stop."

The Jets drafted McKnight, 28, in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL draft out of USC.

He spent three years with the Jets before being cut in training camp in 2013.

During training camp that year, McKnight failed a conditioning test and was arrested in New Jersey for outstanding traffic violations.

McKnight played two games for the Chiefs in 2014 and has been out of the NFL since then.

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Jets star McKnight runs with the ball against the Tennessee Titans[/caption]

Former Saints defensive lineman Will Smith was also shot and killed in New Orleans earlier this year after a minor car crash.

The shooting was just five miles away from downtown New Orleans.