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Marshawn Kneeland’s girlfriend called police worried for his life, according to police dispatch audio obtained by PEOPLE.
In the hours before his death on Wednesday, Nov. 5, 911 audio revealed that Kneeland’s girlfriend tried to save him.
“We’re talking to the girlfriend. She’s trying to call his agent, but we’re trying to get her to call him first, but she’s saying he is armed and has a history of mental illness and her quote was, ‘He will end it all,’ ” one dispatcher can be heard saying during the course of the call.
A dispatcher can also be heard saying that Kneeland’s family “received a text from him, a group text from him, saying goodbye. They’re concerned for his welfare.”
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The same concern is reiterated at another point, with the audio revealing that a lieutenant from the Plano Police Department called in “advising that the NFL is calling” and “the subject is texting his family goodbye.”
The Cowboys defensive end died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after leading Texas DPS troopers on a car chase just north of Dallas on Wednesday night, according to the Frisco Police Department.
DPS Aircraft and troopers along with Frisco P.D. found Kneeland approximately three hours after the chase, dead “from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.” Kneeland was in the immediate area of his car, which had crashed in the southbound lanes of the Dallas Parkway near Warren Parkway in Frisco at 10:39 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5, per the news release shared with PEOPLE.
Moments earlier, troopers had attempted to stop Kneeland for a traffic violation on the northbound lanes of the Dallas North Tollway near Keller Springs Blvd., but he refused to comply, authorities said.
Kneeland then fled and troopers pursued his vehicle until they lost sight of the car. They later found the car crashed in the southbound lanes of the Dallas Parkway near Warren Parkway.
Initial reports indicated that Kneeland then fled on foot from the crash.
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According to Frisco P.D., during the course of the search, officers received information that Kneeland “had expressed suicidal ideations.”
Kneeland’s body was found in the immediate vicinity of his vehicle at 1:31 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 6.
The Collin County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine his official cause of death.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
