Early Saturday morning May 28, Pelicans guard Bryce Dejean-Jones was killed by a gunshot wound to the abdomen in Dallas, Texas. The rookie guard had just signed a three-year contract with the Pelicans in February. Details of the incident are still emerging.
According to ESPN, Dejean-Jones was believed to be breaking into the apartment of “an estranged acquaintance.” Jones was visiting his girlfriend in Dallas for the couple’s daughter’s birthday. "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,'' his agent Scott Nichols told the Associated Press. An email sent out to the residents of the apartment complex said that the person shot had “inadvertently” broken into the wrong apartment.
Later Saturday, Pelicans guard Quincy Pondexter tweeted, “This Can't be real life... Rest easy lil bro #ripBDJ”. Along with Pondexter and his Pelicans teammates, many other players took to Twitter in memory of Dejean-Jones, including Minnesota Timberwolves’ Shabazz Muhammad. "He was the one who after a tough loss would stop and sign autographs and take pictures with kids and fans,” his former coach Dave Rice said while speaking of his character. “He had a huge heart.”
