Ex-Tiger Blackwell dies after struggle with police

The former running back shot his stepdaughter and injured two others.

By Jim Salter ~ The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- A former University of Missouri football star shot his stepdaughter and attacked neighbors, then died after struggling with police, authorities said Thursday.

Ernest Blackwell, 29, of St. Louis County, died Wednesday night. An autopsy was scheduled for Thursday. Results were not yet known.

Police didn't know a motive for the attack.

"There really is no logical reason for any of this," St. Louis County police spokesman Rick Eckhard said.

Officers used several means to try and subdue Blackwell, including shooting him twice with a Taser, which delivers an electrical jolt, during a 10-minute struggle. Paramedics eventually sedated Blackwell, who was 6-foot-3 and weighed 230 pounds during his college playing days, and put him in an ambulance. He died on the way to the hospital.

Blackwell was a running back at Missouri and was part of the team that ended a 13-year string of losing seasons in 1997, earning a berth in the Holiday Bowl. He was picked in the seventh round of the 1998 draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, but was cut during the preseason.

St. Louis County Police Chief Jerry Lee defended his officers.

"I am proud of these officers for their courageous and selfless actions," Lee said. "I knew from talking with the officers involved on scene that this was a very intense and prolonged struggle to make the arrest. I commend them for their appropriate and timely response."

Blackwell's 9-year-old stepdaughter and two neighbors -- a 14-year-old girl and her mother -- suffered serious injuries. Both girls were in intensive care. Four police officers were also treated for injuries.

Police were initially called to the scene for a traffic hazard when an officer learned of the disturbance. He went inside a home to find the 14-year-old girl bleeding and injured, and allegedly heard Blackwell attacking the girl's mother.

Blackwell tackled the officer and tried to take his gun, police said. The officer was able to hit an alarm alerting other officers, who arrived to help.

Police said they used a Taser, which delivers an electric jolt, and sedatives after Blackwell continued to resist arrest. Blackwell was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Officers later learned that Blackwell had earlier used a shotgun inside his own home and shot his stepdaughter in the chest, before going two houses down and attacking the 14-year-old and her mother.