More information has come to light regarding the final hours before the death of Dallas Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland.
Authorities said the 24-year-old athlete was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound near a vehicle he had crashed following a police chase north of Dallas early Thursday morning, Nov. 6.
According to The Dallas Morning News, Kneeland’s body was discovered in a portable restroom near the intersection of Network Boulevard and Gaylord Parkway in Frisco, Texas. The location was not far from where his vehicle had crashed in the southbound lanes of Dallas Parkway — only minutes away from The Star, the Cowboys’ headquarters.
Roughly three hours earlier, Texas DPS troopers had attempted to pull Kneeland over in Addison for a traffic violation. The Michigan native refused to stop and later collided with a pickup truck near the Dallas Tollway access lanes, Texas DPS spokesperson Josue De La Cerda told the outlet.
The driver of the pickup truck was not injured.
As authorities searched for Kneeland after discovering his abandoned vehicle, alerts spread across multiple North Texas agencies that the player was in distress. Kneeland reportedly sent a “goodbye” text to his loved ones, and his girlfriend, Catalina, contacted police to warn that he was armed and struggling with mental health issues, according to police dispatch audio obtained earlier.
A representative from the NFL also reached out to the Plano Police Department around the same time with similar concerns.
The second-year defensive end — who had scored his first NFL touchdown earlier that week on Monday Night Football — was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft.
On Sunday, Nov. 9, teams across the country honored Kneeland with a moment of silence, including during the game in Berlin, Germany, where the Indianapolis Colts faced the Atlanta Falcons, The Athletic reported.
