KC police: Chiefs' player commits suicide

Kansas City, MO – Kansas City police said they are investigating a pair of shootings Saturday morning, one involving a Chiefs player who apparently committed suicide.

The Kansas City Star and KCTV-5 have each reported the gunman to be Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher. He was 25 years old.

A police spokesman said officers first responded to a home where a woman was shot and killed. A short time later, a second shooting took place at the Chiefs' practice facility.

KCTV said Belcher's girlfriend was the first victim.

The Chiefs released a statement confirming the report of an incident, but offered no further details.

"We can confirm that there was an incident at Arrowhead earlier this morning," said the Chiefs in a statement. "We are cooperating with authorities in this investigation."

Police believe both shootings are related, saying they received calls about 10 minutes apart -- the first from the home of the first shooting and second from the Chiefs' facility.

"When officers arrived (at Arrowhead Stadium), they observed a black male who had a gun to his head and he was talking to a couple of coaches out in the parking lot," a police spokesman Darrin Snapp told reporters outside Arrowhead Stadium. "As officers pulled up and began to park, that's when they heard the gunshot and it appears the individual took his own life."

Belcher was in his fourth year with the Chiefs after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Maine. He started 10 of the 11 games he had played this season, registered 38 tackles.

The Chiefs are scheduled to play Carolina on Sunday, but there has been no official word from the team or the NFL about the status of the game.