Chiefs player Jovan Belcher kills girlfriend, then himself

By GLENN RICE and KEVIN COLLISON
The Kansas City Star

Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher this morning shot and killed his girlfriend before going to Arrowhead Stadium and fatally shooting himself as team personnel tried to stop him, police said.

Police Capt. David Lindaman said Belcher, 25, and his girlfriend, 22, got into an argument around 7 a.m. at their home in the 5400 block of Crysler Avenue in Kansas City. Around 7:50 a.m., Lindaman said, Belcher shot his girlfriend multiple times. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The Star is not naming the victim at this time pending assurances that her family has been notified.

Lindaman said Belcher’s mother, who was visiting the couple and their 3-month-old daughter, witnessed the shooting and was being interviewed by police.

Belcher left the scene on Crysler and went to the Chiefs practice facility at Arrowhead, police said.

Police were called to the stadium around 8:10 a.m. When Belcher arrived there he encountered General Manager Scott Pioli, Coach Romeo Crennel and other team personnel. Police said Chiefs staff attempted to keep Belcher from committing additional acts of violence. When police arrived, they heard a gunshot and found that Belcher had shot himself in the head.

The Chiefs released the following statement: “We can confirm that there was an incident at Arrowhead earlier this morning. We are cooperating with authorites in their investigation.”

Outside the home on Crysler, Jennifer Ashley, who said she was a friend of Belcher’s girlfriend, said the woman was a student at Blue River Community College in Independence and had started dating Belcher after being introduced to him by the girlfriend of another Chiefs player.

Belcher, originally from Long Island, N.Y., had been with the Chiefs for four years. He joined the team as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Maine.