Former USC Trojans running back Joe McKnight (4) runs against the University of Illinois during the third quarter of the 2008 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1, 2008. McKnight was shot and killed on Thursday, the victim of a road rage incident in New Orleans, police said. File Photo by Jon SooHoo/UPI | License Photo

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Former NFL running back Joseph McKnight was shot dead in New Orleans on Thursday during a road rage incident, authorities said. He was 28.

Details of the shooting were not immediately released, but officials said the man who shot McKnight to death remained on the scene and was arrested. He was identified as 54-year-old Ronald Gasser.


A witness told the New Orleans Times-Picayune the altercation began at about 2:45 p.m. EST Thursday as an argument at an intersection in the New Orleans suburb of Terrytown.

One witness said she saw two men involved in the confrontation -- the shooter, who was shouting, and McKnight, who she said appeared to be apologizing for something.

After shooting McKnight multiple times, the witness said, the gunman stood over him and shouted an expletive -- and fired once more, the Times-Picayune reported.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the argument and the circumstances that led to the shooting. It was unclear whether McKnight and his killer were acquainted.

McKnight was a Louisiana native and attended high school in River Ridge, La., before moving to Los Angeles to attend college at the University of Southern California, where he became a star running back. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Jets.

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The standout athlete played for the Jets for three seasons before moving to the Kansas City Chiefs. He was released after one season in K.C. and subsequently played in the Canadian Football League. This year, he played for Edmonton and Saskatchewan.