Kyren Lacy, a 24-year-old former Louisiana State University wide receiver and NFL prospect, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Saturday in Texas following a police chase, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office reported.
The Constable’s Office responded to a phone call from a female relative of Lacy who reported getting into an argument with him that ended with him shooting a gun into the ground.
Lacy fled the scene of the argument before police arrived, but they spotted him later in his vehicle and attempted to make a "traffic stop."
A police chase ensued for several miles until Lacy's car crashed in a residential area.
When police tried to take him into custody, they found him deceased due to the gunshot wound. “A handgun was recovered from the interior of the vehicle,” the authorities said.
Body cam and dash cam footage showed that no shots were fired after the pursuit ended.
Lacy was facing trial for a fatal hit-and-run of a 78-year-old man in December. Police accused him of negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death, and reckless operation of a vehicle.
A hearing to begin presenting evidence to a grand jury was set to happen on Monday, and this could have been weighing on his mind as the police chased him.
The accident would likely have put a damper on his NFL plans. He declared for the draft two days after the hit and run on December 19.
Lacy was ranked as high as the number 6 receiver prospect in the draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. in December when he graduated from LSU after three seasons there.
His future held a lot of uncertainty, but he wouldn't be the first NFL player to have committed serious crimes and still been given the chance to play football.
More than likely, he would have been drafted in some capacity and played in the NFL if he could avoid jail for the hit and run.
Now he will never get that chance, having made the extraordinarily bad decision to flee police and possibly shoot himself (though that could have been accidental, caused by the chase).
Whatever happened, his life was cut short in its prime, likely due to the distress of facing yet another altercation on top of the trouble he was already likely to have over the hit and run.
