New Orleans Pelicans guard Bryce Dejean-Jones died from a gunshot wound to his abdomen early Saturday after he “kicked open the front door” to a Dallas apartment and the man sleeping inside woke up and shot him, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Dejean-Jones, 23, ran out of the apartment and “collapsed in the breezeway,” according to a police report obtained by the paper.
Management at the Camden Belmont Apartments sent out an email to residents Saturday saying that “an individual who believed to be breaking into the apartment of an estranged acquaintance inadvertently broke into the wrong apartment.”
The resident of the apartment woke up, retrieved a handgun and called out to the individual, but did not receive an answer, cops said.
Dejean-Jones kicked the bedroom door and the resident shot him around 3:20 a.m., according to the police report.
The young guard’s death was first reported by The Ames Tribune.
“Bryce overcame a lot of obstacles to get to this point in his career,” his agent, Scott Nichols, told ESPN. “He was a joy to be around, a talent just turning the corner in his career.”
A reporter for the New Orleans Advocate wrote on Twitter that Dejean-Jones was in Dallas to celebrate his daughter’s first birthday.
Dejean-Jones, originally from Los Angeles, started 11 of 14 games with the Pelicans this season before undergoing surgery for a broken right wrist and missing the rest of the season.
The team released a statement Saturday acknowledging Dejean-Jones “sudden passing” with “deep sadness.”
“We are devastated at the loss of this young man’s life who had such a promising future ahead of him,” it said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Bryce’s family during this difficult time.”
Following his college career at the University of Southern California and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and Iowa State, he went unselected in the 2015 NBA Draft. He was first signed by the Pelicans in August 2015 but was waived in October.
The Pelicans re-signed him on January 21, 2016, and played in his first NBA game that day.
Shocked NBA stars took to Twitter to share their grief over the stunning death.
“I’ll never forget you Bryce. My heart is super heavy right now man. Thanks for being a true brother. #RipBryce,” Brookyn Nets guard Sean Kilpatrick Jr. wrote.
“Saddened to hear about Bryce Dejean Jones. Condolences to his family. May he Rest in Peace,” tweeted former Iowa State University teammate Melviin Ejim.
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