Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Tyler Honeycutt started his basketball career at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Basketball player Tyler Honeycutt has died after a shootout with US police, local media report.
The Los Angeles Police Department said an unnamed suspect appeared to have died of a "self-inflicted gunshot", after reportedly firing on officers.
US media report it was the former Sacramento King's player, who was on contract for Moscow's BC Khimki.
Honeycutt's mother reportedly called the police because her son was acting "erratically".
His team confirmed his death on Twitter after speaking with his agent.
Police responded to the call at about 17:00 local time (00:00 GMT) on Friday.
According to the LAPD, the suspect, who they have not yet confirmed as Honeycutt, seems to have fired on the responding officers and barricaded himself inside a house. No officers were injured.
US media report this was Honeycutt's residence in the Sherman Oaks area of Los Angeles.
After a prolonged standoff, SWAT teams entered the house early on Saturday morning and found the suspect "unresponsive".
While initial reports suggested Honeycutt may have been hit by police fire, the LAPD tweeted that the suspect "sustained injuries consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound".
Skip Twitter post by @LAPDHQ UPDATE: Regarding last nights Officer-Involved Shooting in Van Nuys Division, it appears as if the suspect was not struck by any officer’s gunfire. The suspect appears to have sustained injuries consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. — LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) July 7, 2018 Report
Starting his career at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Honeycutt was drafted by the Sacramento Kings in 2011.
He played brief spells for the Reno Bighorns before moving to the Houston Rockets.
In 2013 he left the US to play for Israeli team Ironi Nes Ziona, followed by BC Khimki in 2014. He returned to Khimki last year after a year at Turkish team Anadolu Efes.
A former coach and family friend says onetime Sacramento Kings and UCLA basketball player Tyler Honeycutt was found dead after a standoff with Los Angeles police.
Bort Escoto, who coached Honeycutt at Sylmar High School, tells the Los Angeles Times the player’s mother called him early Saturday and said her son took his own life.
The Los Angeles Police Department says it responded Friday afternoon to a report of a man with a gun and during the initial encounter, the suspect fired a shot out of a residence and officers returned fire.
Crisis negotiators were called and a Swat team finally found an unresponsive man who was pronounced dead by paramedics.
The department, which did not identify the man, says he appears to have died of a self-inflicted gunshot.
Honeycutt was 27.
Former UCLA star Tyler Honeycutt played two seasons for the Bruins before entering the NBA draft. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
Former UCLA and Sacramento Kings player Tyler Honeycutt was found dead early Saturday morning in Los Angeles following a shootout with police, according to multiple reports.
Police received a call around 5 p.m. Friday from Honeycutt’s mother that her son “acting erratically.” When police arrived on scene, Honeycutt reportedly opened fire at the officers, who returned fire. Honeycutt then barricaded himself inside a residence for hours, according to police. The area around the residence, including at least 30 people, was evacuated.
When SWAT officers entered the residence around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, police located an “unresponsive male” and pronounced Honeycutt dead at the scene, according to a tweet from the LAPD. Thought it was initially unclear how Honeycutt died, the LAPD issued a tweet Saturday morning that he “appears to have sustained injures consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
No officers were injured in the shooting.
UPDATE: SWAT entered the residence & located an unresponsive male. LAFD responded & pronounced the male dead at scene. Investigators from our Force Investigation Division are at scene conducting a thorough investigation and we will provide more details as they become available — LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) July 7, 2018
Honeycutt, who was 27, spent two seasons at UCLA where he was named first-team all-Pac 10 as a sophomore before declaring for the 2011 NBA draft. The Sacramento Kings selected the Los Angeles native with the 35th overall pick, and Honeycutt played 24 games across two seasons before he was traded to the Houston Rockets in February 2013. The Rockets waived him less than a month later. Honeycutt had been playing overseas since 2013, most recently in Russia with BC Khimki.
