NFL quarterback Steve McNair shot to death

Updates are being added as they become available, posted at the end of this post.

Summary as of 10 p.m. CDT: McNair appears to have been murdered by 20-year-old Sahel Kazemi, a woman he had been dating for a few months. Kazemi then apparently turned the gun on herself. While Nashville police have not pronounced the death a murder-suicide, neither are they actively looking for suspects. Continue to read for the story as it developed during the afternoon and evening.

NASHVILLE, TN-Metro Nashville police have confirmed that former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair, 36, was found today shot to death in a downtown condominium.

Police spokesman Don Aaron appeared on WSMV-TV (NBC affiliate) moments ago (video below). Aaron said that police found the bodies of McNair and a woman in the condominium this afternoon, although no time of death has been determined. Both were dead, apparently of gunshot. Aaron said police have tentatively identified the woman, but have not released her name. The condo is located at 105 Lea Ave. in Nashville.

After leaving the Titans for Baltimore, McNair continued to maintain a residence in Nashville, but media have not said whether the condo was his. McNair recently opened a restaurant in downtown Nashville, also. Police have not released other details as of 4 p.m CDT.

Here is hastily-grabbed video of police spokesman Aaron's statement to media. This is all the information that police have released so far.



Titans coach Jeff Fisher is in the Persian Gulf on a morale-boosting trip to the troops.

Update: The rumors are already flying that this was a case of murder-suicide. But police have not even finished processing the crime scene. Having served with a federal law-enforcement agency, I can tell you that the investigators are not even hypothesizing yet. Scene processing will consume several hours yet.

Update: The Tennessean's report (Nashville paper) is here.

Titans owner Bud Adams's statement:

We are saddened and shocked to hear the news of Steve McNair’s passing today. He was one of the finest players to play for our organization and one of the most beloved players by our fans. He played with unquestioned heart and leadership and led us to places that we had never reached, including our only Super Bowl. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as they deal with his untimely passing.

I should mention that McNair was tremendously popular in Nashville and most of Tennessee, even after he moved to the Ravens.

Update, 5 p.m. CDT: WSMV's reporter just emphasized that police have still only tentatively identified the dead woman and that police have told at the scene that they do not yet know what the relationship was between the woman and McNair. Blogs are already afire reporting that the woman was McNair's wife.

Update, 5:25 p.m.: The owner of the building where McNair's body was found was a man named Charles Cardwell, a Metro Nashville trustee. Cardwell leased that apartment to a man named Wayne Neely (both spellings phonetic from listening to TV news). Cardwell told WSMV that Neely and McNair were good friends and that when McNair visited Nashville he would sometimes stay at the apartment. Neely apparently did not use the apartment as his own principal residence. Cardwell said he had no idea who the dead woman was. This just reported on WSMV.

Update, 6 p.m. Nashville newscasts: Condo building owner Charles Cardwell (see update just above) lives in the building and says he last saw McNair there about 6 weeks ago.

A reporter is saying that McNair's driver of three years told her that McNair's Nashville residence is in the Green Hills section of Nashville, which is a few miles south of downtown. In this Google maps grab, "A," at the top, is Lea St., where McNair's body was found and "B" is the Green Hills section of Nashville. Click for larger view. It's about 5.5 miles between the two points.

Update, 6:35 p.m.: WSMV is reporting that McNair's wife, Mechelle, has told police that she had not heard from her husband for two days. So much for rumors that the dead woman was Mechelle. A field reporter, also a good friend of McNair, says that McNair probably would stay in the downtown condo because he had already been convicted of a DWI while with the Titans and didn't want to risk another arrest driving to Green Hills after a night out.

6:40 p.m.: Police have officially stated that the dead woman is not Mechelle McNair. The dead woman's identity still has not been released. Police have towed a Cadiallac Escalade and a Lincoln Navigator to their impound lot. WSMV reports that McNair was shot in the head.

7:40 p.m.: It was Wayne Neely who found the bodies. Neely, as explained above, held the lease on the apartment and was known to loan it out to McNair when McNair was in town. Reports are now that McNair suffered multiple gunshot wounds. Mechelle McNair has been in town all along at their Green Hills home.

10 p.m.: The dead woman has been identified as Sahel Kazemi. The Tennessean reports:

Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was killed in an apparent murder-suicide with a young woman he met at a local restaurant and have been dating for at least a few month

McNair, the hometown hero who did extensive charity work in Nashville, died of several gunshots and was found on the sofa, police said. Sahel Kazemi, 20, was found alongside him in a Second Avenue condo he rented. She had a single gunshot wound to her head; a pistol was found near her body.

Steve McNair and Sahel Kazemi

Metro police spokesman Don Aaron said they were leaning toward certain scenarios based on the evidence, but they hadn’t ruled anything out. Still, they were not actively looking for suspects Saturday night.

Kazemi was arrested for DUI Thursday night. McNair was a passenger in her Cadillac Escalade, which was impounded by police this afternoon.

Kazemi's former boyfriend told police that she and McNair met while she was waitressing at Dave & Busters.