The wife of slain former Saints player Will Smith was reportedly shot before her husband was killed during an incident on April 9, the Smith family attorney said Wednesday.
According to attorney Peter Thomson, Racquel Smith was deliberately shot first by Cardell Hayes, 28, who later shot and killed Will Smith. Racquel Smith suffered gunshot wounds to both legs and remains at University Medical Center in New Orleans, where she is being treated.
"Smith had a gun and was going to shoot it and Cardell may have saved both of their lives," attorney Tanzanike Ruffin told NBC Sports. "In my mind, this is justifiable homicide. We assume Will Smith is a saint, but he's not."
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A loaded 9 mm handgun was found Saturday night in Will Smith's SUV, but the weapon did not appear to have been fired in the incident, law enforcement authorities said.
"I am not aware of any threats by Mr. Smith to go get a gun," said Thomson, who also said that Will Smith was licensed to carry a concealed weapon but that he never had a chance to take his gun out of a console in his car before Hayes shot him. "I'm aware of nothing that Will Smith did that would cause this killer to be afraid for his life. There's nothing Will Smith could have ever said to have caused that specific intent to shoot and kill him and specific intent to shoot his wife."
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Will Smith, 34, was drafted by the Saints in 2004 and played nine seasons with the team. The shooting happened Saturday night in the Lower Garden District of New Orleans.
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On Sunday, a judge set Hayes' bail at $1 million. He has not entered a plea.
"(Racquel) asked me to say that Will was a wonderful husband, wonderful father, adored by her and her children," Thompson said. "She considered him her Superman. And that night, as he always does, he was trying to protect her the best he could."