Denver Bronco Darrent Williams Killed...
 

Broncos' Williams Killed in Drive-By Shooting
Incident Happens Just Hours After Team Eliminated
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP
DENVER (Jan. 1) - Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting early Monday, his limousine sprayed with bullets in downtown Denver just hours after the team was elimated from the NFL playoffs."

Two other people in the stretch hummer limo in which he was riding were injured.

Police have no suspect or motive yet, although my former TV station reports that the problem may have started in a bar where Williams and another Bronco allegedly got into an argument with other patrons.

Here is a link to the story.

http://cbs4denver.com/topstories/top...001081523.html

God, what an aweful thing to have happen.:(

Some football fans or whatever get over the top with a damn game.:mad:

Seems like the good do die all too young.
Best thoughts and wishes to all.
RIP
http://www.wpxi.com/sports/10645401/detail.html
http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4931937
http://www.newsday.com/sports/footba...=ny-arts-print
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2763363
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?cnn=yes

It had nothing to do with football. It sounds like there was an altercation at a nightclub (which had nothing to do with Williams), and it led to gunfire.

Even if he wasn't a professional football player, to have a 24 year old gunned down is a horrible tragedy.

KSigkid;
I do agree with most of what you said.
However, one of my chapter's Little Sisters was married to a Pro Football player, and unfortunately some times there is some interesting interaction when off field, and on own private time.

Look what happened to David Wells in NYC a few year back.

Either way, it is way too early to have any idea just what did or did not take place.

It is, as we all seem to agree, that what ever started ended in a tragedy.

True, living in Boston I heard/saw some interesting things with pro athletes. However, I understood Tom's point to mean something along the lines of a soccer player being killed by a fan because of bad play, something of that nature.

K-I am sure more, much more, will come out over next few hours and days.

Still, his death is just a waste and a shame.

There's a Denver Post article here.

This is really sad, terrible news. He was a great player and really fun to watch with his cute little mohawk. :(

A long, long time ago, far, far away...

I use to date a professional NFL player. The kinds of things I heard would happen and the altercations that they escaped from was psychotic...

It's sad to see this happen.

Would a manditory requirement, like in the NBA, that a player signs be beneficial?

I dunno, the little guy should have had his entourage be invited out with a VIP access, etc. Or have a party at his house, catered with some company supporting him...

Could somebody chip in to buy strippers to come to his house? Like isn't the Ladies Nude Swedish Ski Team in Colorado now? What was he doing going to a ghetto club that has snipers at it anyways?

Just some quick clarification for everyones information.

The club they left has had several names and reputations during the past few years. It is just a block from the TV station where I worked. It used to be a real dive -- and we drank there fairly often after work. (We once found one of my directors alseep in the back seat of his car behind the place one morning) Our middle daughter goes there sometimes now since its reputation is much younger oriented these days.

The street where the shooting took place is not really what I would consider "downtown," but just West and slightly South of the business district. It is a main NW to SE artery that runs with several lanes on each side of a creek/river which runs diagonally through Denver. The areas along the creek, a 15-20 foot deep culvert with sidewalks at the bottom, are frequented by runners, bicyclists and homeless people, depending on the time of day or night. Some of the homeless sleep under the bridges that cross the culvert.

I don't think I would classify either location as particularly "ghetto,' at least in the truest sense of the word.

The area around the actual location (11th and Speer) is just South of the Denver Performing Arts complex with hi-rise condo/apartments and a park on the West side and small businesses on the East. Several years ago, a Denver TV station helicopter lost power and made a "hard landing" (read that as a barely controlled crash) in the creek just three blocks North of this location.

On a personal note, reading the initial stories were a real shock to me, not only due to the content, but because all three of the spokespersons (Jackson, Saccomano and Aiello) quoted in the first one are people I worked with. I've known a lot of people who were interviewed as spokesmen in stories, but this was the first time there were that many in the same story. I imagine that the cops know more than Sonny Jackson, the DPD spokesman and former TV Photojournalist, is saying, but they aren't going to tip their hand so early in the investigation.

The Denver Health Medical Center (formerly Denver General Hospital -- sometimes called the Denver Knife and Gun Club because it is a level one trauma center) which is a city owned facility and base for Denver Paramedics and handles most of the major trauma cases for the core city area, is only a few blocks South of the scene, so it is likely that help was quick and close. Denver Fire Headquarters and Engine House Number One is about three blocks North. The Denver Cop Shop (Police Headquarters) is a very few blocks away.

I agree with KSigKid and Jon that this probably had nothing to do with sports per se, but may well have been futrther incited by the fact that high profile sports personalities were involved.

Again, the above is for information only, and is not intended to try to add any motive for the shooting or its location.

It is very sad when a young and talented life ends so early and violently.

Thank you for the local insight and clarification.

I was re-writing and editing my post as Jon replied, but the content is basically the same.

Yeah, DeltAlum, it isn't dangerous. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT GOES ON??

Some of these guys come from having a "record"... You THINK they SHOULD behave like adult--cuz that's what they are--BUT they do NOT. They stay involved in questionable situations.

Old gang member friends sneak up on them and exhort from them demanding the VIP card access. There is jealousy and anger because someone is envious of one's success... Family members start to act crazy because a lot of money is being exchanged...

And these kinds of situations tend to precipitate fast... It's like one has to say to these players to stay away from the "appearance of evil"... And young people have that naievete [sp?] of that "wait and see" attitude. Life experiences dictates leaving... Hey, the dress code and the music type would tell me immediately what kind of party it would be--no coat check, guys in orange mink hats and coats with too much jewelry and scantily claded women with no coats... No, that would NOT be a place I would frequent...

Besides, I no longer do dive bars... My judgement call is if they don't know what a "cosmo" is, then hey I can leave... But that's my defense mechanism.

AKA-interesting posting which may in part(s) be correct.
BUT at this time we do not know just what was going on prior to, during, or even after the group left the bar/club.
The police have just started their investigations. So they most likely are still sorting matters out. So they do not yet know.
Unless of course you do.:)

All I have read so far is a group of friends getting together, after work, to socialize and have a fun evening out.
Something we have all done.
However, in the case, higher profile people. But everyone gets the opportunity to go out in public. Walk down the streets in NYC,LA or even Seattle and you will bump into someone along the way; that has happened to me several times including one actual bump.

So how about keeping what ifs to the minimum until we hear or see more?
Let CSI: Denver do its' thing. And lets not leave out Denver mass media doing it's work as well.

I certainly don't disagree, Monet.

During a long career of televising sports, I've met a lot of athletes on every level. Some are remarkably bright -- some are dumber than a rock. Some act their age, some are still kids. Some are pillars of the community, some are thugs.

I didn't know Darrent Williams.

In the aftermath of a tragedy like this one, you hear all kinds of comments and stories. The concensus seems to be that this was a man who had a very rough childhood, but who had turned his life around. He was apparantely very highly thought of as a player and a person by the members of his team and the Bronco staff. His coaches from high school and Oklahoma State say that he had turned into a great young man with a potentially outstanding future. Bronco coach Mike Shanahan said, ""We all know that Darrent was an excellent player, but as a person, he was a first-class young man who brightened every room with his smile, attitude and personality," Shanahan said. "I cannot express how heartsick I feel at this loss."


The word in some places is that the shooter probably followed the limo and made a deliberate attack. Both the suspect vehicle and the stretch limo had tinted glass, so it's hard to know if Williams was the target -- or the entire group. It will be interesting to see if the shooter and Williams have any history, or if this was a spur of the moment crime growing out of the alleged argument at the club. My gut feeling is the later -- but I have no information to prove it and could be totally off base. It's just a kind of "between the lines" feeling I have.

There was some sad footage of Bronco Javon Walker ariving at Bronco Headquarters today with blood on his shirt and pants. He was in the limo, and reports are that Williams collapsed into Walker's lap after being hit in the neck.

Another man (there were reportedly twelve people in the Hummer) who was hit in the limo was released from the hospital. The woman who was also injured was reportedly hit in the head, but her injuries don't appear life threatening.

As Jon correctly points out, we don't have a whole lot of information yet and the investigation is in its very early stages.

The only thing that is absolutely for sure is that a promising young athlete has been killed long before his time.

Update...Or lack thereof...
 

A couple more things...

Williams was the first homicide in City of Denver for 2007.

There have been other incidents of violence which injured professional athletes in Denver in the past few years:

Steelers linebacker Joe Porter, a former Colorado State player was shot at a Denver sports bar in August, 2003 at approximately 1:45 AM

Nuggets guard Julius Hodge was shot four times in a drive-by incident as he drove his car on a Denver area interstate highway after leaving a local club in August, 2006 at about 2:15 AM.

(Information found in The Rocky Mountain News)

Then, of course, there is Williams.

They haven't found the person who shot Julius Hodge, have they?

Also, someone with/nearby Joey Porter when he was shot was killed at the time.

This is really sad. Darrent was from right here in Fort Worth; played for O.D. Wyatt High School.:(

No, I don't think so.

And yes.

I was googling this like crazy earlier and couldn't find anything. I knew he was shot by someone in a beigey Olds/Cadillac/some type of "pimped" out car with rims and shit. I found an article where the owner of the club he visited before being shot said he was "dressed like a gang member" because he had a bandana on his head. Apparently somebody flashed gang signs at him in the parking lot. But that's it.

For real, I usually make fun of people who get all choked up when someone famous dies, but I'm all kinds of upset about this. On the one hand, I'm really angry. On the other hand, I don't want to be angry because I suspect people getting angry is what caused this whole mess with Darrent Williams. From what I've been hearing, some "words" were exchanged at the club, and somebody was bothered enough by that to open fire on a limo and an awesome young man is dead. I'm angry that all this time has gone by and we don't know who shot Julius Hodge and his life is STILL messed up from what happened. Do we know who shot Joey Porter? Why do they shoot athletes in Denver? How many unsolved murders are there in this state, anyway, and what in the hell is anybody doing about it?

I don't know. Maybe anger is okay if you figure out a constructive way to get over it, and maybe I can do that.

While no real new hard news, found this interesting Sports Column:
Krieger: Fame can bring tragic dark side
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...251121,00.html

Info on unsoved murders:
http://www.unresolvedhomicides.org/news.html

Thanks -- I found that site a few hours ago and it's really interesting.

Also, Julius Hodge played the last minute of the Nuggets game tonight -- it was nice to see him with the team again.

Well, because I can't seem to get enough of this thread I'll post an update -- according to the local sports radio station, they know the year of the SUV involved (they didn't reveal that information, though) and are looking for a specific person.

I heard that last night, too.

It's hard to figure out just where things stand right now, because every media outlet is saying something just slightly different.

It would seem that there should be enough witnesses to the "altercation" at the club to at least give the police some people to start with. My guess is that they're just keeping pretty quiet. Probably smart.

Nice little story on Hodge in today's "Rocky." Nice to see he's back. I didn't realize he has been playing in the NBA "D" league. You don't hear much about that.

That is good news - there wasn't much news nationally on what happened after the shooting, it's good to see he's recovered enough to resume playing pro basketball.

Yeah, although it's not as exciting as it might seem -- they brought him back up from the D-League team because they're short so many players right now (Anthony and Smith still suspended, Nene out with wonky knee). IIRC, he's out after this year, because they didn't pick up his contract. But still, it's nice to see him.

Also, latest update -- they're looking for a '98 Chevy Tahoe, Colorado plate no. 665 OBS. It's registered to a Brian Hicks, who is in jail on charges stemming from an unrelated shooting (of a woman who was to testify against him in a separate case and was killed in December). Apparently his wife, who is not in jail, also participated in threatening the witness against her husband. Nice.

News links updated:
http://www.espnstar.com/others/other...l_3723298.html
http://www.kotv.com/sports/local/story/?id=117431
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...ure/index.html
http://www.washtimes.com/upi/20070103-042420-3185r.htm
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=62568
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...253923,00.html
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/6333268
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16427371/

Holy crap!

Is that the woman who was found murdered in her home in Cherry Creek North a couple of weeks ago who was supposed to testify against her ex husband?

Our middle daughter used to live in that duplex!

This is too spooky!

I heard on the radio this morning that they found the Tahoe - it was missing a rear license plate but still had the front one and had been burned. They said it was halfway to a Denver Airport. The only site I've found mentioning this is www.9news.com which says its a Colorado News Station, and their top header says "Breaking News: Denver Police believe they have found the Chevy Tahoe with license plates matching the vehicle wanted in the Darrent Williams murder case."


ETA: ((From http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...04/detail.html ))

DENVER -- Denver police found a Chevrolet Tahoe that had been sought in the investigation of the shooting death of Denver Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams.

The 1998 Tahoe was found burned out and abandoned at 40th Avenue and Himalaya Street in the Green Valley Ranch subdivision just after 6 a.m. Thursday, 7News reported.

The white car appeared to have been painted black, except for the roof of the vehicle, or it may have been burned. A license plate was missing from the rear of the SUV, but the front license plate matched the number police said was being sought.

FYI, "9News" is the promotional name for KUSA-TV, the NBC affilliate in Denver. It's a pretty good news organization, owned by Gannett Corporation.

The Broncos, as a team, fly to Texas today for the funeral after having met with Williams' mother in a reported very emotional meeting yesterday.

Yes, it's the same people who were, um, "allegedly" involved with that.

Fan950 reported that the Tahoe was painted black (except for the roof -- how subtle!) and not burned. I'm not familiar with the Green Valley Ranch area, but it's out in what I would consider the boonies, although the Mr. says there are houses and stuff there. If you look at an aerial image of the area (you can see one here) it looks like it was found at the end of a street in a suburban-sprawl type neighborhood. That seems like a weird place to leave it -- did they know someone living in that community or was it chosen at random? If it was random, why there, where I'd guess someone would promptly notify the police on noticing a weirdly painted Tahoe? I hope there's a wealth of forensic evidence -- LOL I sound like Dayle Hinman from Court TV.

Some of the more current news links:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...04/detail.html
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_4944729
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2718793
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...010400587.html
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2769218

Dude, you are awesome.

Also, take back what I said earlier about where the car was found -- it actually was at 38th & Himalaya, which is not in a subdivision.

Now the police are looking for three gang members -- story here. I've heard there are pictures/sketches out there, but haven't seen them yet.

ETA: here's an article about the clubs on South Broadway, where Darrent was hanging out before he was killed.

ETA again: The Club Shelter Myspace sent out the following bulletin:

There seems to be a witch hunt for the wrong person going on here! All stories like this do is draw attention away from the fact that a young man has died due to an act of horrific and senseless violence.

I heard a point worth passing along: If the story were to focus on the fact Darrent Williams' vehicle was shot at numerous times on a DENVER street where the crime occurred, then we as a city would have to admit that our streets are unsafe, but if the focus is put on a nightclub or it's owner then we can rest easily. I doubt that this area of town looks any different than LoDo's does at 2am. But that seems to be a santioned area by media and city officials. Why the lack of focus on the real issue?

I think these guys are assholes of the highest order, but that's just me.

Unreal quote from that article:

What a craptacular situation . . . especially if the "gang signs from friends" bit is at all true. Just awful.

The part of the article that really pisses me off is this:

When contacted at her home Thursday, James declined to talk about who might have been driving her husband's Tahoe, saying to do so wouldn't be "doing any good."

"I ask people to pray for us," James said. "We are victims in all of this, too."

No, you stupid cow, you're not victims. Saying that it wouldn't be "doing any good" to talk about who might have had the Tahoe implies that she knows who it was but she's too much of a pussy/bitch/accomplice to say anything.

It takes A LOT for me to be disgusted with people. A lot. I'm so disgusted with this I don't even know where to begin.

Also, Rev. Kelly called into the sports radio station the other day -- he has a website.

The shooter was probably someone from Iverson's posse.

Or not.

Updated news links:
http://www.longmontfyi.com/Local-Story.asp?ID=13929
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7006047206
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/f...ports-football
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2772105
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2721269
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory?id=2773525

I get the same reaction when parents/spouses of the criminals say that they've "lost" someone too in these situations. They haven't, and even if that person gets sent away to jail, they'll be able to see and talk to the murderer/accomplice. The person who was murdered is gone forever.