Former Jets running back and USC star Joe McKnight was gunned down in broad daylight Thursday during a road rage incident in the New Orleans area, according to reports.

“I told you don’t you f−−k with me,” fumed his alleged killer, 54-year-old Ronald Gasser, moments after he pumped bullets into the Louisiana native, according to a witness who spoke to the Times-Picayune.

Police officials said McKnight, 28, had been arguing with Gasser at an intersection in Terrytown, which is located across the Mississippi River from New Orleans, before the shooting unfolded just after 3 p.m.

It was unclear exactly what they were fighting about, only that it was a traffic dispute. Witnesses said McKnight was sitting in his Audi when the two exchanged words. Gasser then got out of his Infiniti sedan and pulled McKnight from his car, WWL-TV reported.

As things escalated, Gasser produced a pistol and fired off shots.

“Mr. Gasser did in fact shoot Mr. McKnight,” Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand explained during a press conference.

“Mr. McKnight did not have a gun in his possession,” he said. “Our officers arrived on the scene and immediately began administering CPR.”

Dramatic cellphone footage obtained by the Times-Picayune shows a paramedic frantically performing chest compressions on McKnight as bystanders gather around his lifeless body.

“This could’ve been any one of us,” one woman can be heard saying.

“That man just got out and shot that man!” she adds. “That boy dead.”

Family members later identified McKnight as the victim, the Times-Picayune reported.

“He didn’t deserve it,” said his cousin, Rozanne Lundy. “He was a good guy, it was 100 percent unnecessary.”

A witness at the scene told the newspaper that the former USC Trojan was trying to apologize to Gasser just before he was shot.

Gasser allegedly fired more than once — then stood over McKnight’s body and told him not to “f−−k” with him before firing again, the witness said.

He remained at the scene and was eventually taken into custody for questioning, but not immediately charged. Police officials said they expect to file charges against Gasser, though they have yet to be determined.

“We will release additional details when we get through with the interviews,” a spokesperson said.

McKnight was selected by the Jets in the fourth round of the 2010 draft following a stand-out prep career in Louisiana and a stint at USC, where he was hailed as the heir to Reggie Bush.

In three seasons with Gang Green, McKnight played in 39 games, recorded 502 rushing yards and made his biggest mark as a kick returner. He led the NFL with a 31.6-yard kickoff return average in 2011.

McKnight last played in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014, and he saw action in 2016 in the Canadian Football League.

In some ways, though, McKnight never left New Orleans. A passage from the 2013 book “Collision Low Crossers” describes Jets assistant coach Anthony Lynn becoming concerned about McKnight experiencing insomnia during his rookie season.

“[Lynn] finally discovered that what was keeping Little Joe awake were the terrifying things he’d seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,” author Nicholas Dawidoff wrote. “The dead bodies floating through his nightmares were so traumatic, McKnight had come to fear sleep. No wonder, said A-Lynn, that McKnight struggled to remember plays in the afternoon.”

McKnight’s death will likely draw comparisons to the death of former Saints defensive lineman Will Smith — who was also shot and killed in New Orleans earlier this year following a car accident.

Tributes began to pour in on Twitter Thursday afternoon from grief-stricken NFL players and former Jets teammates.

Bush, who also played under Pete Carroll during his time at USC, added: “RIP my brother Joe McKnight this one hurts bad.”

The Jets organization also released a statement Thursday night saying: “Joe McKnight was a loving father and a genuine, kind-hearted person. It is sad when life is taken in what appears to be such a senseless act of violence. Joe, you will be missed.”