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Kansas City Chiefs Jovan Belcher Kills Girlfriend, Then Self.


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Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Javon Belcher killed girlfriend, then self, police Say

Police say Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Javon Belcher fatally shot his girlfriend early Saturday, then drove to Arrowhead Stadium and committed suicide in front of his coach and general manager.

Police spokesman Darin Snapp confirmed it was Belcher, a fourth-year player from West Babylon, N.Y., who played college ball at Maine. The woman's name has not yet been released.

Snapp said Belcher shot the woman at a Kansas City residence, then drove to the Chiefs facility. He thanked Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli and Romeo Crennel for all they had done for him, then shot himself.

Authorities received a call Saturday morning from a woman who said her daughter had been shot multiple times at a residence about five miles away from the Arrowhead complex.

"When we arrived, a lady informed us that her daughter had been shot multiple times by her boyfriend, by the daughter's boyfriend," Snapp said. "She identified him as a Chiefs player."

Snapp said a call was then received from the Chiefs' facility.

"The description matched the suspect description from that other address. We kind of knew what we were dealing with," he said. The player 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."

The coaches told police they never felt in any danger, Snapp said.

"They said the player was actually thanking them for everything they'd done for him," he said. "They were just talking to him and he was thanking them and everything. That's when he walked away and shot himself."

Snapp described the girlfriend as in her early 20s and that she and the player had a child together. He said the woman's mother told police they had recently been arguing.

Arrowhead Stadium has been lockdown since about 8 a.m.

"We can confirm that there was an incident at Arrowhead earlier this morning," the Chiefs said in a statement. "We are cooperating with authorities in their investigation."

Kansas City is scheduled to host the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. The league has informed the Panthers to travel as scheduled because the game is going on as scheduled.

The season has been a massive disappointment for the Chiefs, who were expected to contend for theAFC West title.

They're just 1-10 and mired in an eight-game losing streak that has been marked by devastating injuries and fan upheaval, with constant calls the past few weeks for Pioli and Crennel to be fired. Things have been so bad this season that Crennel fired himself as defensive coordinator.

The Chiefs have been ravaged by injuries, led the league in turnovers, can't settle on a quarterback and are dealing with a full-fledged fan rebellion. The Twitter account for a fan group known as "Save Our Chiefs" recently surpassed 80,000 followers, about 17,000 more than the announced crowd at a recent game.

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I was deeply saddened when I woke up to this news this morning. I grew up a devoted Chiefs fan, and I havent missed watching a game in 9 years, despite the ups and downs.

This season has been hard, the team is the worst in team history, the "Save Our Chiefs" movement has taken over full swing in Kansas City, and the fans have been in uproar over GM Scott Pioli, as well as head coach Romeo Crennel and QB Matt Cassel.

When people think the season couldn't get any worse, something real like this happens. Incidents like this make all those other issues irrelevent.

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Sports like Rugby and others are looking into head injuries and concussions and trying to make their sports safer. The NFL one of the biggest, and wealthiest leagues is only now starting to look at the long term effects. In the past few years we've seen a rather large increase in suicides among NFL'ers and ex-NFL'ers. I remember the old helmets we used in high school were built like tanks. Lots of materiel on the outside, gel padding on the inside. I loved tackling in them. Maybe the new helmets are too light, and not providing enough protection? One of the symptoms in repeat concussions is depression.

I think we need to get to the cause of the problem and help reducing it. We may not be able to help Javon Belcher. But if his legacy is his death triggered research on helping others, his death may not be in vain.

My heart to go out to the victims and his family, and the coach and GM.

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I was just reading about this on TSN and at first the only thought I had was "This has to be some kind of sick joke."

Unbelievable for a someone to be so selfish to not only take their own life, but someone else as well. Then to do it in front of other people that more than likely cared about him as well is just disgusting.

I feel for his coach and GM, they are going to have a tough time getting over something like this. I found my roommate years ago hanging from a garden hose and I know how long it took me to get over that. It took a huge emotional toll on me for years, and that was nowhere near as bad as what they have witnessed.

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I was just reading about this on TSN and at first the only thought I had was "This has to be some kind of sick joke."

Unbelievable for a someone to be so selfish to not only take their own life, but someone else as well. Then to do it in front of other people that more than likely cared about him as well is just disgusting.

I feel for his coach and GM, they are going to have a tough time getting over something like this. I found my roommate years ago hanging from a garden hose and I know how long it took me to get over that. It took a huge emotional toll on me for years, and that was nowhere near as bad as what they have witnessed.

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This is the real conflicting part, and I truly hope that the Chiefs do not hold a tribute for him. On the one hand, suicide is very difficult on those close to the deceased, and it is nice to have a tribute to remember a loved one.

On the other hand, this man is a murderer, and had he not taken his own life, he would be in custody now, and certainly no tribute would be held for a man in custody. Remember him, if you like, on your own time. This man's life should not be publicly celebrated in light of what he has done to the victim and the family of the victim, including a young child.

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Well just one week ago was the International Day to end Violence against Women, and in under a week is the anniversary (for lack of a better word) of the December 6 Montreal Massacre, so I imagine there will be a violence against women observance

FYI it's white ribbon time here in Canada, and you all can wear a white ribbon to support ending violence against women

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Such an awful story. I don't know that the Chiefs organization can make a right decision on how to handle this. You know they are probably debating it, as we speak. No one can really be prepared for a thing like this. Impressed they are still taking the field.

Thoughts are with the families and that little girl. So sad. =(

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