Man who police say shot former Chief Joe McKnight is released from custody

The man who police say shot and killed former Chiefs running back Joe McKnight on Thursday in Louisiana has been released from custody without charges while the investigation continues, the Times-Picayune reported. The New York Times reported that the man told investigators he had shot McKnight.

Multiple news sites reported that the man’s name is Ronald Gasser.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand held a news conference on Friday and said the incident was a case of road rage.

This is from the Times-Picayune story, which mentions a member of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office:

Gasser, 54, has not been formally charged, said JPSO spokesman Col. John Fortunato. Investigators are consulting with the district attorney’s office on the decision whether to formally charge Gasser, Fortunato said.

The Times-Picayune said a witness said that McKnight was shot more than once and that the shooter stood over McKnight and fired one more time.

However, The New York Times reported that Normand said that claim was false. This is from the Times story:

All of those are false, he said, and he advised people to believe only what they heard from officials like himself and the district attorney.

“I strongly suggest you stop believing what you’re reading,” he said.

The Times reported that Normand said Gasser had fired three rounds from inside his vehicle, and that McKnight was shot three times — in the hand, shoulder and chest — according to Gerald Cvitanovich, the Jefferson Parish coroner.

This is also from the New York Times story:

Asked why Mr. Gasser was freed if he had admitted to the shooting, he said that in Louisiana there were some “relative statutes that provide defenses to certain crimes.”

He said the case may have escalated into violence because someone “recklessly” cut off the other while driving on a bridge. He added, without further elaboration, that a man who had raised McKnight used to work as a deputy in the sheriff’s office. It was not immediately clear whom he was referring to; a 2007 profile in The Los Angeles Times said McKnight was raised by his mother, Jennifer McKnight.

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 10:59 AM.