Everyone makes mistakes. Sure, some are more condemning than others, but human beings can always work to get beyond them. That’s no longer the case for 17-year-old Billey Joe Johnson, one of the nation’s top underclassmen running backs who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after being pulled over by a traffic patrol officer in Northeast Mississippi early Monday morning. Forget layoffs and economic distress, this is about as depressing as you can possibly get.
How big a loss is Johnson to the sporting world? Well, the odds are that in the coming years you would have learned a lot more about him. The junior was being recruited by just about every school in the SEC, and he had scholarship offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Ole Miss and Mississippi State, among others.
Police are keeping quiet about whether Johnson’s death was a suicide or a pure accident, but an accidental shooting that instantly kills him (i.e., that hits his head or carotid artery) with a shotgun seems like a major leap of faith. After all, he was either wielding or moving a shotgun, and the fact that he had a shotgun sitting in the front of his truck would lead one to believe he had a pretty good idea of how to safely operate one.
According to the ASSOCIATED PRESS, we may not know any more about Johnson’s motivation for awhile.
Needless to say, Johnson’s coaches and the entire area which watched the running back emerge as a transcendent regional star finds itself in an utter state of shock.
“We’re just in shock,” George County Assistant Football Coach Darwin Nelson said. “To say that he had a world of potential would be one of the biggest understatements of the century. I just can’t explain this. … Us coaches need some counseling too, I guess.”
We can’t explain it either. Neither can anyone else, for that matter.
Johnson was a prolific talent, finishing his three-year high school career with more than 4,000 rushing yards while almost single-handedly leading George County High School to the Class 5A State Championship Game in 2007. His team lost there, and they never really recovered in 2008, finishing 6-6 with a first round playoff exit, not that the lesser results scared college coaches away from chasing after him. Johnson also started on the George County baseball team, and his athletic talent might have made him a prospect for the minor leagues in the future.
No more, thanks to one rash move after being pulled over by the cops. Take note kids, and whatever you do, please don’t try this at home.
6:28 pm on December 8th, 2008
This is terrible. What could have possibly triggered this young kid to take his life like that? Even if he was hiding drugs in his car (and I'm not saying he did), that's not worth putting a gun to your head over.
6:31 pm on December 8th, 2008
It would be quite easy to kill yourself accidentally with a shotgun. It's a shotgun, for chissakes, not a .22. Whether it was loaded with shot or with a slug, it's pretty much a guaranteed fatality if you shoot yourself with it accidentally at close range anywhere in the torso or head. Your statement that a fatal hit is "a major leap of faith" is just ridiclous.
Equally ridiculous is your claim that possessing a shotgun somehow implies that the possessor knows how to use it. Complete and utter nonsense. There are people all over this country who owns firearms and yet don't know the first thing about firearms safety.
It's pretty easy for me to imagine that he shot himself accidentally while trying to move the shotgun out of sight (maybe under the seat) so the cop wouldn't see it.
Much harder to imagine is why he had it in the vehicle in the first place, and why it was loaded. But you are doing him wrong by jumping to the conclusion that this was intentional suicide. Maybe it will turn out to be just that, but you have nothing to base that on so far.
9:00 pm on December 8th, 2008
Sad story. Something just doesn't seem right about it.
Lucedale is in Southeast MS.
11:02 pm on December 8th, 2008
jesus, is that bizarre. really hard to believe it was purposely self-inflicted. unless there's some extensive, ridiculous police cover-up he had a loaded shotgun in his hand. occams razor could lead you to believe he accidently killed himself in the commission of a crime, or one that was imminent. that seems the most logical. who knows?
but isn't difficult to accidentally shoot yourself using a firearm with a barrel that long?
still, the suicide angle doesn't add up.
6:46 pm on December 9th, 2008
See what you've started, Plaxico?
9:59 pm on December 9th, 2008
"Forget layoffs and economic distress, this is about as depressing as you can possibly get."Way to put it in perspective. Appropriate.
4:45 pm on February 7th, 2009
This does not make sense,,,,this kid did not kill himself,,,,first off if you actually read the report you will see that while being pursued after running a red light he got out of his truck. Everybody knows you don't get out of your vehicle especially if your a young black male,,,he was also known to be seeing a young lady that was white,,,,this is Mississippi,,,so many things in the actual report indicates something wrong with this entire situation. They need to bring in the FEDs to investigate this situation