Details continue emerge regarding the death of former NFLer and New Orleans Saints defensive lineman Will Smith. Smith, allegedly involved in a traffic altercation with Cardell Hayes in the Lower Garden District area of New Orleans, was shot in the back and died shortly after receiving the injuries.
There was an immediate outpouring of support for Smith's wife and his family following the news of his death and many, including Saints head coach Sean Payton, New Orleans native and Arizona Cardinals safety Tyrann Mathieu, and Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis have spoken out against the rampant gun violence in New Orleans and the senseless nature of Smith's death.
UPDATE: The lawyer for Smith's family claims Smith's murder was premeditated.
But the latest details, from New Orleans police and the lawyer representing Kevin Oneale, the passenger in Hayes' car when the incident occurred, alleges that there may be more to the story and that Smith may actually have been the aggressor. Via a statement from his lawyer, Oneale claimed that Smith had a gun and that Hayes' actions were necessary in order for both men to survive the confrontation.
"My client believes that Cardell saved his life," Oneale's lawyer said. "Smith had a gun and was going to shoot it, and Cardell may have saved both of their lives ... in my mind this is justifiable homicide. Was Will Smith acting like a saint? This was a hit-and-run that ended up in a tragedy. You've got the aggression of two [former] football players, facing off with each other as if they are on the field, and you are going to get your point across by any means necessary."
Surveillance footage released on Tuesday seemed to show Smith's Mercedes rear-ending Hayes' Hummer and then driving off. Per Hayes' lawyer, John Fuller, Hayes pursued Smith after that exchange in an attempt to secure Smith's information.
"Someone hit him, the person failed to pull over," Fuller said. "My client trailed behind this person in an effort to get this license plate number. My client also called 911."
Police announced Tuesday that a loaded 9-millimeter handgun was confiscated from Smith's vehicle following the incident.
"Whether the victim is famous, infamous, popular, unpopular, black, white, Catholic, Baptist, the law applies equally to everyone," Fuller said. "If the law is applied fairly in this case, I think the results are going to surprise a lot of folks."
