He said the alleged gunman then stood over Smith’s body and yelled abuse as his wife Racquel (right) crawled away and tried to hide 

Attorney for ex-Saints player’s family revealed his account of Smith’s death
The 34-year-old was gunned down in his car in New Orleans on Saturday
Lawyer Peter Thomson insisted Smith was not the aggressor that night
Also said the gun he was said to be carrying was stashed in a glove box
Thomson said the deadly confrontation began when the cars ‘bumped’
He compared it to two cars driving into each other in a parking lot
Smith didn’t think he hit the vehicle, so tried to drive around Cardell Hayes
But Hayes allegedly became angry, approached Smith, and fired at him

Hayes (mugshot left and in football uniform right) has been charged with murder following the death of the former Saints defensive end

The gunman accused of murdering ex-NFL star Will Smith allegedly stood over the football player’s dead body and yelled at him as his wife crawled away, cowering in pain. A lawyer for the former Saints defensive end’s family also revealed that Racquel Smith pleaded with suspect Cardell Hayes to leave them alone as they had children – before he shot her husband eight times. His heartbroken relatives wanted the world to know he was not the aggressor in the road rage incident and insists the firearm Smith carried was stashed away in the glove box of his Mercedes. Attorney Peter Thomson said the suspect Hayes, shot 34-year-old Smith eight times, with seven hitting his back.
Peter Thomson, an attorney for Will Smith’s family, has said the former NFL star was shot eight times by suspect Cardell Hayes after he bumped into his car
Peter Thomson, an attorney for Will Smith’s family, has said the former NFL star was shot eight times by suspect Cardell Hayes after he bumped into his car

He said the alleged gunman then stood over Smith’s body and yelled abuse as his wife Racquel (right) crawled away and tried to hide

In an emotional speech, he went on to say that Racquel referred to her husband as ‘Superman’ and that he was protecting her that night.
Racquel was shot twice – once in the right leg, fracturing her femur, and once in her left leg.
She then tried to hide from Hayes, but couldn’t walk, so was forced to try and find cover next to a car.
On cell phone footage taken straight after the shooting, she can be heard screaming ‘my leg has been shot’.
Thomson said the encounter began after the Smiths and two others left a restaurant in the football star’s Mercedes G63 SUV.
They then pulled up behind Hayes’ Hummer H2 at an intersection.
The Hummer stopped suddenly, forcing Smith to hit the brakes. Thomson said the couple didn’t believe they struck the car, and didn’t see any damage, so they tried to drive past.
He said he did not believe Smith had been drinking before he got in the car.
Thomson denied the couple was in a ‘hit-and-run,’ and insisted the collision was a ‘gentle
bump.’ He described the collision as being similar to two cars knocking into each other in a parking lot.
Surveillance footage taken from a nearby restaurant shows the moment Smith’s SUV apparently tapped the back of the Hummer. Hayes has been charged with murder following the death of the former Saints defensive end

Thomson said the incident was sparked by what he said was a ‘gentle bump’ between cars. Smith’s SUV is seen second from the front and the Hummer allegedly driven by Hayes is at the rear 

HOW THE NIGHT OF WILL SMITH’S ‘MURDER’ UNFOLDED, ACCORDING TO HIS FAMILY’S LAWYER

Will Smith and wife Racquel were at Sake Cafe in New Orleans with a large group of friends.
They had been celebrating the French Quarter Festival. One of their guests was a police chief who was being sued by the alleged gunman after his father was shot dead by New Orleans police
After finishing their meal they got into their Mercedes SUV to drive another couple back to their car.
While driving on Magazine Street, a large Hummer, driven by suspect Cardell Hayes, came to a sudden stop, forcing Smith to step down hard on the break.
Initially, they thought they hadn’t hit the Hummer, so they drove around.
But Hayes then rammed into their SUV from the back. The collision shattered the back windshield.
Will Smith checked to make sure everyone was okay and then got out of the car.
A large man, believed to be Hayes, and a passenger got out of the Hummer and approached Smith.
According to Thomson, ‘some words are exchanged,’ but an angered Hayes started cursing at the NFL star.
Racquel Smith and another woman approached Smith and told him to calm down.
They walked back to the car, believing the situation was under control, but then the chaos unfolded.
Thomson says ‘the killer’ then shot at Will and Racquel twice. He hit Racquel in each leg and then shot Smith eight times – seven times in the back
Hayes is then believed to have stood over the body and yelled expletives

Sources: NBC and WGNO

 

Thomson added that Racquel Smith pleaded with suspect Cardell Hayes to leave them alone as they had children – before he shot her husband eight times
Thomson added that Racquel Smith pleaded with suspect Cardell Hayes to leave them alone as they had children – before he shot her husband eight times
Smith decided not to pull over, prompting the Hummer to chase after the SUV.
Thomson said the driver of the Hummer ‘violently rammed the back of their car,’ causing the rear windshield to shatter.
He told the watching press: ‘Will checked first to make sure everyone in the car was OK. They were afraid, they don’t know what’s going on.’
They then saw a man, believed to be Hayes, walking towards them.
That’s when Smith decided to approach the two men in the Hummer.
‘The driver (Hayes) … was enraged, and he is yelling and cursing, and he had his hands up shaking them and making signals’ Thomson said.
Racquel and another person who has not been identified tried to diffuse the situation and convinced Smith to come back to the car.
Thomson said the incident was sparked by what he said was a ‘gentle bump’ between cars. Smith’s SUV is seen second from the front and the Hummer allegedly driven by Hayes is at the rear
Thomson said the incident was sparked by what he said was a ‘gentle bump’ between cars. Smith’s SUV is seen second from the front and the Hummer allegedly driven by Hayes is at the rear

Thomson added that Racquel (pictured being taken away from the scene on a stretcher) referred to her husband as ‘Superman’ and that he was protecting her that night

Thomson said Racquel begged for Hayes to ‘leave us alone,’ adding that she put her hands up to him and said, ‘Go back to your car. We have children. This is not worth this.’
As the couple headed back to their SUV, Thomson said, Hayes brandished a 45-caliber handgun.
Thomson told NOLA.com in a brief interview: ‘What we wanted the public to know was that Will Smith was not the aggressor; he was not armed; he had retreated; this was cold-blooded murder.’|He added: ‘Racquel has already been through a lot. She’s been shot, lost her husband, been in tremendous pain.
‘But to see these distortions being circulated has been very difficult, and she wanted to correct those lies and distortions.’
The occupant of Hayes’ vehicle, Kevin O’Neal, said that he believed Hayes saved their lives because Smith had a gun and was the aggressor.
‘In my mind this is justifiable homicide,’ O’Neal’s attorney, Tanzanike Ruffin, said Tuesday.
Smith’s sent has sent shockwaves through both New Orleans and the NFL community

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