Police have confirmed that Bryce Dejean-Jones, a guard for the New Orleans Pelicans, was shot and killed after breaking into a Dallas apartment Saturday morning.
According to Dallas Police, officers got the call about a shooting at Camden Belmont Apartments around 3:20 a.m. Reports say an “individual,” (who many are assuming was Dejean-Jones) had kicked open the front door to an apartment, while the resident of the apartment, who had been asleep, retrieved a handgun. The resident then allegedly “called out” the intruder but did not get an answer. The bedroom door was then kicked before the resident fired his gun through the door, striking the “individual” in the abdomen.
According to an email the apartment complex sent to its residents Saturday morning, the individual was “believed to be breaking into the apartment of an estranged acquaintance [but] inadvertently broke into the wrong apartment.”
“He went to the wrong apartment unfortunately and I think he thought his girlfriend locked him out, so he was knocking on the door, banging on the door, it’s locked,” Nichols told the Associated Press. “So one thing led to another.”
Sources told ESPN that Dejean-Jones was involved in an argument with the child’s mother before the shooting.
According to a report from the NBA’s senior vice president and chief security officer that was sent to teams and obtained by ESPN, no charges have been filed against the apartment resident.
Texas law allows a person to use deadly force to defend themselves in their home as long as they’re not provoking the attacker or involved in criminal activity at the time.
A toxicology report is also “a couple weeks” away according to reports. It’s unknown if a substance was responsible for the incident. Dallas PD is expected to give an update Tuesday.
Dejean-Jones signed a three-year deal with the Pelicans in February after joining the team on several 10-day contracts. He did start 11 of 14 games, averaging 5.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists before having surgery on a broken right wrist, missing the remainder of the season.
The team posted this on Facebook:
“It is with deep sadness that the Pelicans organization acknowledges the sudden passing of Bryce Dejean-Jones.
We are devastated at the loss of this young man’s life who had such a promising future ahead of him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bryce’s family during this difficult time.”
Josh Helmuth is the editor of Crave Sports.
