McNair shooting declared a homicide

Nashville police have yet to rule out the possibility of a murder-suicide in the shooting of former NFL quarterback Steve McNair and a local woman.

A police spokesman told the Associated Press on Sunday that McNair was shot four times, including twice in the head, by a semiautomatic pistol, while 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi was killed by a single gunshot wound in the head.

Authorities found the weapon lying under Kazemi’s body.

McNair possessed a permit to handle a gun in Tennessee and was once exonerated from charges after being arrested with a 9mm weapon. Investigators said they have not yet determined the owner of the firearm found at the scene.

Don Aaron, of the Nashville police, said that McNair, 36, and Kazemi, a waitress at a local restaurant, had been involved romantically for the past few months. According to Aaron, authorities are not discounting the possibility that the couple’s illicit relationship was the cause of the deaths.

“That’s a very important part of the investigation as we work to ultimately classify Miss Kazemi’s death,” he said, adding that police need more time to interrogate friends of both victims before Kazemi’s death could be ruled as a suicide.

Police do not believe that McNair’s wife, Mechelle, had any involvement, nor are they trying to track down any suspects.

McNair and Kazemi were found dead Saturday afternoon in a Nashville condominium that McNair shared with a friend, where police said they died earlier that morning. A witness told authorities that McNair arrived alone at the condominium between 1:30 and 2 a.m. Saturday and that Kazemi’s vehicle was already there.

A Heisman Trophy candidate while at Alcorn State, a tiny African American university located near Lorman, Mississippi, McNair was drafted third overall in the 1995 NFL Draft by the Houston Oilers, who later relocated to Nashville.

Over his 13-year career, McNair is most well-known for leading the Houston/Tennessee franchise to its first and only Super Bowl appearance in 2000. Fueled by McNair’s memorable play, the Titans nearly erased a 16-point deficit before succumbing to the St. Louis Rams, 23-16. Time expired as wide receiver Kevin Dyson caught a McNair pass and was tackled at the St. Louis one-yard line.

He ended his career in 2007, with the Baltimore Ravens, having thrown for more than 31,304 yards and run for an additional 3,590, the third-highest total in NFL history for a quarterback.

McNair is survived by wife Mechelle and his four sons.