Zurlon Tipton Jr. Dies After Accidentally Shooting Himself
Former Indianapolis Colts running back Zurlon Tipton Jr. died on Tuesday after he accidentally shot himself at a car dealership in Detroit. He was 26.
Police say Zurlon was at the dealership dropping off his car when one of two guns inside of the duffle bag he was handling discharged and fatally wounded him.
Via Detroit News:
“The department has been notified by staff at St John (Hospital on Moross) that the individual that suffered the gunshot wound has passed away due to his injuries,” Roseville Police Deputy Chief Donald Glandon wrote in a statement Tuesday. “Condolences to the family.”
The shooting occurred as the 26-year-old Detroit native placed personal belongings into a bag containing the firearms, police said. It remained unclear Tuesday who owned the weapons or why Tipton was carrying them.
“A gentleman … brought a vehicle into our service department between 9 and 9:30 this morning,” said Mark DeMara, general manager of Mike Riehl’s Roseville Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Dealership on Gratiot between 10 and 11 Mile. “He had a transmission leak in his vehicle. At some point, he reached into a duffel bag that was on the passenger seat of his vehicle and the pistol that was in there deployed and shot the gentleman in the abdomen.”
Tipton was originally alert and talking while being transported to the hospital, police said. There were no other injuries or damage associated with the incident.
The incident is being treated as an “accidental discharge.”
So very sad.
Our condolences to the Tipton family.
