Shooter in Joe McKnight death released from custody, sheriff disputes details

McKnight, a former standout at USC, was 28-years old when he was shot to death

By Ben Kercheval

Dec 2, 2016 at 4:43 pm ET • 1 min read

Details of the shooting that killed former Southern California running back Joe McKnight are still coming forward. On Friday, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand disputed a previous witness account of the event that left McKnight, 28, dead in Terrytown, Louisiana.

Normand said two details of a witness account were untrue. First, Normand said that Ronald Gasser, who admitted to shooting McKnight, did not stand over the body. Normand added that there "were no witness accounts of McKnight apologizing to Gasser."

The New Orleans Times-Picayune reported Thursday that an unnamed witness was leaving a store in the Terrytown area when she saw one man yelling at another, the latter of whom was trying to apologize. Per the witness, the first man shot the second, stood over him and said "I told you don't you f--- with me."

Gasser has been released from custody with charges yet to be filed. Normand said the public should not "rush to judgment" in this case. Additionally, the sheriff said the state's "stand your ground law" could apply to this event, but did not elaborate further.

McKnight, a top-ranked recruit in 2007, played three years at USC. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Jets, where he played for three years and served as the team's top kick returner in 2011 and 2012.