Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed early Monday when his stretch Hummer was sprayed by bullets after a nightclub dispute following a New Year’s Eve party.
Denver police have no motive and no indication the 24-year-old player was targeted in the drive-by shooting. The burst of violence occurred hours after the Broncos were eliminated from playoff contention.
A little after 2 a.m., the limousine was fired on from a vehicle that pulled up along its side, hitting three people, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said. Coach Mike Shanahan said the killing left him “speechless with sadness.”
Jackson said there was a dispute at a nightclub several blocks from the shooting where Williams and his group had attended a party. He said the argument didn’t specifically involve Williams, according to witnesses, and the confrontation wasn’t physical, just taunts.
Players and coaches didn’t have to report to work Monday, but about 20 of them gathered at team headquarters to console each other, including receiver Javon Walker, who was in the limo when Williams was killed, according to several Denver media organizations.
Walker, who declined to speak with reporters, appeared to have blood spattered across his shirt when he arrived at the Broncos’ facilities.
“He is in a limo, you think he’s doing all the right things, he’s not driving … I mean, who shoots up a limo?”
–Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter
“All of us are devastated by this tragedy. To lose a young player, and more important, a great young man such as Darrent Williams, is incomprehensible. To lose him in such a senseless manner as this is beyond words.”
–Broncos owner Pat Bowlen
