DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Broncos CB Darrent Williams shot and killed

Not sure if this goes here or in tailgate...feel free to move if necesarry

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2716385

DENVER -- Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting early Monday, his limousine sprayed with bullets in downtown Denver.

Team spokesman Jim Saccomano said police called him about 3 a.m. from the scene and told him three people had been shot, and the 24-year-old Williams had been killed. The killing came hours after the Broncos were eliminated from the playoff race.

A little after 2 a.m., a white Hummer limousine was fired on from a vehicle that pulled up along its side, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said. As many as a dozen bullet holes were visible on the driver's side of the vehicle.

Three people in the limo were hit and were taken to hospitals, where one man was pronounced dead, Jackson said. The other man and woman who were shot were not identified.

Jackson said police were searching for suspects and interviewing witnesses.

"We have no motive yet," Jackson said. "We're hoping to talk with witnesses to find out where they were coming from, and that might give us some clues."

Saccomano said he spoke with coach Mike Shanahan and others in the organization. Hours earlier, the Broncos lost to San Francisco 26-23 in overtime.

"Complete shock. We're speechless. It takes words away. A terrible tragedy," Saccomano said.

Pro Bowl player Champ Bailey was among the players and team staff members who gathered at Denver Health Medical Center, where Williams' body was taken.

"He had a big heart and a lot of courage," said Cedric Smith, assistant strength and conditioning coach. "It's a tragedy, a complete tragedy. It's sickening."

Williams teamed with Bailey to give Denver one of the top cornerback tandems in the NFL. Williams finished the season with 88 tackles, 78 of them solo, and four interceptions.


"He had a big heart and a lot of courage. It's a tragedy, a complete tragedy. It's sickening."
-- Cedric Smith, Broncos assistant coach
Williams had a tough youth but straightened out in college, said his high-school football coach, Anthony Criss.

"When he was younger, he always gravitated to the wrong crowd," said Criss, who coached Williams for three seasons at O.D. Wyatt High in Fort Worth and continued to speak regularly with Williams. "I remember he went to church and the minister was talking to him about needing to pray and stop hanging around with the wrong people, and he started straightening up and doing the right thing."

Williams matured at Oklahoma State, turning his eye toward a professional football career, Criss said.

"I visited him his junior year, and he was grown," Criss said. "Everything was, 'Yes, sir. No, sir."

Players and coaches are off Monday. They were scheduled to meet Tuesday before heading home for the offseason.

On Sunday against the 49ers, Williams had three tackles and returned two punts for 50 yards before leaving the game with a shoulder injury late in the second half. After the game he said he was planning to wait a few weeks before determining if he needed an operation.

In December, Williams spoke of his desire to return to his hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, this offseason to talk to kids about staying out of gangs.

Williams, a second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State in 2005, made an immediate impact on the Broncos. He started nine times in his rookie season following a stellar college career.

The white stretch Hummer limousine sat in a snowbank beside Speer Boulevard, a main street through downtown Denver. On the driver's side, at least three bullet holes were visible near the front, and four more near the back. One window was blown out and four others had bullet holes.

Police and evidence technicians worked amid snow and ice from recent storms, using small tent-like yellow plastic markers to indicate possible pieces of evidence.

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Extremly sad story to see especially this time of year. Here's a kid, who from the sound of things, really turned his life around and bettered his situation. It's unfortunate to see someone lose their life this way in a (seemingly) random act of violence. We obviously don't know the entire situation, but it is still a tradgedy. My thoughts go out to his family and friends. What a bad way to start the new year.

What I want to know is when did Colorado become the NFL DRIVE BY capital of the world....Joey Porter got shot there just a few years ago.

Very sad

HACK

If you'd have checked, you'd have seen that there is already a thread in Tailgate.