Ronald Gasser was released from custody early Friday without being charged after fatally shooting former NFL player, Joe McKnight.
Gasser, 54, shot McKnight, 28, in a fit of road rage outside New Orleans on Thursday [Dec. 1], according to police. A witness said Gasser shot McKnight more than once and at one point stood over him and said "I told you don't f--k with me" before shooting him again. McKnight was not armed, police say, and Gasser remained at the scene after the shooting and gave his gun over to police.
The release of Gasser, who is white, has enraged many people in the African-American community. Antonio Cromartie, McKnight's former teammate with the Jets, was disheartened to learn that Gasser was released without being charged. Gasser tweeted, "I don't get it. How in [the] hell do you release someone who killed my brother, my friend, a father a son, a brother without charging him. Bull Crap."
"You tell (me) how can a man murder someone go get to sleep in his bed at night," Cromartie added. "But my brother can't. What the hell am I to tell my nephew."
Gasser's family, however, said they couldn't believe the telecommunications expert was capable of shooting and killing someone. “He’s the best guy, the most generous guy,” Gasser’s sister, Sharon Weileman, told NOLA.com. “I have no idea what happened. I can’t even talk right now.”
“I’m speechless at the moment,” Gasser’s daughter, Candice Gasser-Bua, told NOLA.com. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around what happened.”
Residents say Gasser moved into his father's house in Gretna, Louisiana about 15 years ago. He continued to live in the one-story brick house following the death of his father last year. Locals said that Gasser lived in the home alone.
A rep from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Dept. says Gasser "definitely" shot McKnight, but there are "questions about the circumstances surrounding what led up to it. The investigation is still ongoing, and the case could go to the grand jury or the district attorney, which will decide whether or not charges should be filed.
Source: nydailynews.com
