He's a local hero here on the MS Gulf Coast. Only got to see him play once, but he was impressive. Still no motive on why he might have done it. Suicide is such a weird issue. By all accounts, this was a happy kid. Not depressed at all that anyone could tell. He was an avid hunter, so that's why he had the shotgun in the truck. It had to be an accident, but still doesn't explain why he was reaching for it. Maybe to hide it, but the deputy would've already seen it when he approached the vehicle.
I read this earlier. I think that Bama offered this kid a scholly. Rumor is that Billy Joe got into a fight with his girlfriend in the minutes before he was pulled over. Very very sad and very very tragic.
Tiger prospect Billie Joe Johnson dies... of apparent self inflicted gun shot wound. “The deputy was sitting in his patrol vehicle ... when he heard a gunshot and saw the victim laying on the ground by the driver’s side door of the vehicle that Johnson was driving. A shotgun was lying on the victim,” according to a statement from the George County Sheriff’s Department. Authorities would not immediately say whether they believed the shooting was a suicide or an accident. Link Not really familiar w/ this guy. Was reading Scott Rabalais' blog and ran across a link to the story. Did a quick search and didn't see this anywhere. Mods, feel free to move this to recruiting section if you deem appropriate.
Re: Tiger prospect Billie Joe Johnson dies... I've been saying that something is fishy with this story since it happened. They're investigating the incident and I wouldn't be surprised to find out it happened differently than the original report. Believe it or not, the deputy did not have a dash camera on board his cruiser...I thought every cop had a camera now-a-days.
Re: Tiger prospect Billie Joe Johnson dies... I read about this incident 2 days ago and one report mentioned that there was an argument with his girlfriend a few minutes before he was pulled over. Very sad either way you slice it.
Re: Tiger prospect Billie Joe Johnson dies... How does he have a shotgun in the car and the deputy doesn't see it? It's not like you can hide it under the seat.
Re: Tiger prospect Billie Joe Johnson dies... Its not illegal in that area to have a loaded gun in your car if i remember correctly. He may have been trying to hide it which I dont know about since its not illegal. Maybe he didnt know the laws, who knows, its a tragic story and I think there is much more to it.
