Darrent Williams killed in drive-by shooting.

[aexchange]

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



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

Darrent Williams: 1982-2007
Darrent Williams
Williams
An emotional Tatum Bell reacted to the death of teammate Darrent Williams on Cold Pizza. Bell was also Williams' teammate at Oklahoma State.
To watch, click here. ESPN Video Mike Evans of KKFN Radio in Denver, who used to host a radio show with Williams, tells who the Broncos starting right cornerback was as a person.
• To listen, click here.

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. His death came hours after the Denver 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. One window was blown out and four others had bullet holes.

Three people in the limo were hit and 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.

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

Senseless loss
The NFL at its core is a big fraternity and today we lost one of our own. I didn't know Darrent Williams that well. We'd only met once or twice, the first time coming after he was drafted by the Broncos in the second round of the 2005 draft. He was excited to start his new journey and was confident that he could prove he belonged in this league. He did prove he belonged on the big stage.

In the coming days we're going to hear a lot of stuff about how athletes were out of control in 2006, but we can't forget that this was a 24-year old kid who lost his life. This is bigger than a football player or a football team; this is about a kid whose life ended prematurely. This is about a kid who was realizing his dreams and it just smacks of senselessness to me. There's no reason we should be writing eulogies for 24-year old kids & absolutely none.

My heart goes out to his family and friends who are suffering from this untimely loss.
-- Mark Schlereth

The limo sat in a snowbank beside Speer Boulevard, a main street through downtown. Police and technicians worked amid snow and ice from recent storms, using small yellow plastic markers to indicate possible evidence.

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," Saccomano said.

"It is a terrible tragedy," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello added. "We don't know all the details yet, but we are reaching out to the Broncos to offer our support."

The previous active NFL player to die was Thomas Herrion of San Francisco. He had a heart attack following an exhibition game in Denver on Aug. 20, 2005.

Champ Bailey was among the Broncos players and 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."

Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams played two seasons with Darrent Williams at Oklahoma State.

"It makes you want to stay home and not go out to places when you see things like that," Kevin Williams said. "You hate to see it. He was a hardworking kind of guy. He was a great guy."

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy called the death a "tragic loss for the Broncos family, Oklahoma State University and anyone who knew Darrent Williams. It's a loss that goes far beyond the football field."

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

Players and coaches were off Monday and 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 planned to wait a few weeks before deciding if he needed an operation.

NFL players shot
Darrent Williams is the third NFL player to be shot in the past 12 months and the first to die.

To read a partial list of NFL players who have been shot since 1992, click here.

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.

Anthony Criss, Williams' high school football coach in Fort Worth, Texas, spoke with the cornerback often, and as recently as two weeks ago.

"When he was younger, he always gravitated to the wrong crowd," Criss said. "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 pro football, Criss said.

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

In December, Williams spoke of returning to his hometown this offseason to talk to youngsters about staying out of gangs. Williams, who has two young children in the Fort Worth area, recently talked to Criss about establishing a free football camp for youth players.

"He had great compassion," Criss said. "He always wanted to try to make sure people did the right thing. He wanted to be a good parent, a good father, a good example for his kids. He will be missed."

Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press

[Astroholic]

That's sad. Why do people have to be so stupid?

[Drbio]

Nothing good happens at 2am. These guys need to understand that. Horrible story.

[Astroholic]

Taco Cabana is pretty good at 2am.

[Big Shot Rob]

I had a friend who died late one evening several years ago after leaving a Spurs game. He was engaged and was taking two future step-children to their first game.

As he approached a car, he heard a woman scream out for help. He turned and saw a man pointing a gun at her. He leaped at the guy to try to save the woman--the gunman turned on him and shot him in the face, killing him instantly.

Both studies and common sense tells us that the death rate goes way up late at night, For my unfortunate friend--one who I knew since the second grade--he was at the prime of his young life. He met the woman of his dreams. He was going to marry her and adopt her two children as his own sons, giving them his own name. Instead, these two children suffered the horrible experience of watching their future father murdered.

Please be safe everyone. Use common sense. Of course, as a Catholic, I believe that God was summon us when He needs us. Still--no use tempting fate with reckless choices.

[Big Shot Rob]

Originally Posted by Astroholic

Taco Cabana is pretty good at 2am.

I like the eggs and fajitas late at night.

Mmm...sounds good right about now.

[capitalcity]

Damn that's a horrible story Rob. Peace to his family.

Nobody deserves that, and it certainly could've happened anywhere, but since we're talking about common sense - why did Bexar County stick the SB&T center in the middle of the barrio? East side San Ant_ni_ is rough. I mean "this is no time for shortcuts" - cap's wife, rough.

[MeganLuvsMavs]

OD Wyat grad...RIP

[capitalcity]

Fort Worth boy.

Just a baby...

[Murphy3]

I know this type of thing happens everywhere, but Denver is a miserable place....

[nashtymavsfan13]

Denver's Bailey, Lynch still mourn slain teammate at Pro Bowl

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

February 8, 2007

KAPOLEI, Hawaii (AP) -- Champ Bailey and John Lynch had the same idea for their latest trip to the Pro Bowl: They both wanted to wear No. 27 in honor of slain Broncos teammate Darrent Williams.

Williams died from a gunshot wound to the neck on New Year's Eve when his stretch limousine was repeatedly shot while driving away from a Denver nightclub. He was 24.

Most of the Broncos have been in varying degrees of shock since that day, when an overtime loss to the San Francisco 49ers kept them out of the playoffs. Hours later, Williams' murder rendered such concerns trivial -- and not even another trip to the Pro Bowl could stop his teammates from thinking about their fellow defensive back.

"I think about it every day, sometimes every hour," said Bailey, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection. "We still don't know what happened, who did it. It's just tough to think how quick it can all happen."

Bailey and Lynch will wear their regular uniform numbers in Saturday's game after the NFL decided to put No. 27 decals on the back of every player's helmet in tribute to the Broncos' rising young cornerback. The three Broncos had discussed someday coming to the Pro Bowl together, and Lynch thought Williams had a chance to develop into a star.

Lynch, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection in 14 NFL seasons, always enjoys the working vacation in Hawaii with his wife and children, who posed with him for photos during the AFC's picture day Thursday.

But Williams also wasn't far from Lynch's mind. The veteran safety praised Williams' growing maturity while lamenting the senselessness of his death.

"There's no question it's made a big impact on me and my teammates," Lynch said. "He was a guy who I really respected as a teammate and a person. It still hasn't sunk in, I guess. It's hard to believe what happened."

Police still aren't sure exactly what happened in the moments after Williams, Broncos receiver Javon Walker and others left a party thrown by Denver Nuggets forward Kenyon Martin. Two other people were wounded in the stretch Hummer limousine in which Williams was killed.

Police said there was an altercation at the club before Williams' death, but details remain sketchy despite the Broncos' offer of a $100,000 reward for information. Willie Clark, described by police as a person of interest who might be able to help catch the killer, is in prison after being convicted of an unrelated parole violation last month.

Bailey spent time last month with Walker, who was sitting next to Williams in the limousine when the cornerback died. Walker didn't attend Williams' funeral, and Bailey said the incident still weighed heavily on the star receiver's mind.

"It's going to take some time to get back to normal," said Bailey, who has lined up as a receiver in practice with Bill Belichick's AFC squad this week. "We're never going to forget, though."