INQUISITR.COM / News & Politics

New Photo Of Alleged Joe McKnight Shooter Ronald Gasser Surfaces, Witness Claims Suspect Stood Over Former NFL Star’s Body

By Shaunee Flowers
Published on: 12:35 PST, Dec 3, 2016

Former NFL star Joe McKnight was shot dead in an apparent road rage incident in the New Orleans suburb of Terrytown on Thursday. His alleged shooter Ronald Gasser was arrested by Jefferson Parish law enforcement at the scene only to be released just hours later with no charges filed. In a press conference the next day, claims that Gasser stood over McKnight after shooting him were shot down. However, a witness to the shooting is claiming otherwise.

TMZ posted a picture taken by a witness who was at the scene when Joe McKnight was allegedly shot by Ronald Gasser on Thursday. The picture shows Gasser outside of his vehicle already, allegedly having shot at McKnight who was still in his car. McKnight’s car door is open and it looks like the former NFL star was falling out of the car at the time the photo was taken. According to the person who took the photo, Gasser’s gun can be seen resting on the trunk of his Infiniti.

Soon after the road rage shooting, reports began to circulate that Ronald Gasser allegedly shot Joe McKnight twice while he was still inside his vehicle. They claimed that once McKnight was out and on the ground, Gasser then stood over the former NFL player and yelled at him before firing another shot.

In a next-day press conference, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand told reporters that the altercation started on the bridge nearby when one of the men became upset at the way the other was driving. It’s still not clear who may have been cut off prior to the shooting or if authorities even know what cause the road rage.

Normand said that according to witness reports, McKnight and Gasser got into a “heated exchange” at the intersection and that led to Gasser fatally shooting McKnight.

According to law enforcement, Gasser fired three shots at McKnight, all from inside his vehicle and through an open window. They also said that three bullet casings have been found and they were inside Gasser’s blue Infiniti. Sheriff Normand said that only one of the witness reports included details about Gasser standing over McKnight and that they were not true.

However, the eyewitness who took the photo shared by TMZ is not the same person who reported to police that Gasser was standing over McKnight and they also back up that claim. She says that she distinctly heard Gasser say to McKnight, “I told you I was going to f**k you up.”

According to the report, this latest witness claims Gasser was standing outside of his car and paced back and forth several times with the gun in his hand before placing it on the trunk of his car. Then Gasser picked the gun back up and put it inside his car before police showed up. The witness also said that she gave her information to police on the scene and has yet to be contacted by anyone about what she saw on Thursday, which contradicts their claim that they are currently looking for more witnesses.

When police showed up to the scene where Ronald Gasser allegedly shot Joe McKnight, the accused shooter was cooperative as he told officers where he placed his gun before being taken into custody. It was several hours later when Gasser was released from the Jefferson Parish Jail and no charges were filed against him, causing quite an uproar among those following the case.

It turns out Ronald Gasser has a history of road rage and even had an incident at the very same intersection where he allegedly shot Joe McKnight. According to the New York Times, back in 2006 Gasser was accused of chasing down another man on the same stretch of road before ending up at the same intersection. Once stopped, Gasser reportedly punched the other man several times before getting back in his car and driving away. The other man then called 911 to report the altercation to police.

While Ronald Gasser continues to walk free, Sheriff Normand has said that he isn’t worried about the shooter going anywhere. Normand pointed out how cooperative Gasser has been this far and made it clear that the case was still under investigation.

[Featured Image by Handout/Getty Images]

Share this article: New Photo Of Alleged Joe McKnight Shooter Ronald Gasser Surfaces, Witness Claims Suspect Stood Over Former NFL Star’s Body
More from Inquisitr