New Orleans Saints

Coroner says Will Smith was shot 8 times, including 7 times in the back

Published Apr. 13, 2016 2:22 p.m. ET

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A coroner’s report released Wednesday showed former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith was shot eight times the night he died – seven times in the back and once in the left side of his chest.

New Orleans coroner Jeffrey Rouse's Wednesday statement came as a lawyer for Smith's family said Smith never brandished a gun when he was shot Saturday night in New Orleans.

Cardell Hayes was arrested on a second-degree murder charge after that shooting, which also injured Smith’s wife. Hayes is still being held.

Police said Tuesday that Smith, 34, had a gun in the car the night he and Hayes confronted each other after a car accident. But the gun was never fired. Attorney Peter Thomson said Wednesday that Smith was not carrying it when he was shot.

Thomson also said Smith was not inebriated the night of the crash. The coroner's statement says toxicology results won't be available for six to eight weeks, however.

Thomson read a statement on behalf of Racquel, who called Will Smith a “wonderful husband, wonderful father, adored by her and adored by her children,” and that Smith was trying to protect his wife during the altercation.

Earlier Wednesday, the lawyer for a man who was in the vehicle with Hayes said the killing was "justifiable homicide."

NBC reported that the statement came from attorney Tanzanike Ruffin on behalf of the passenger, Kevin O'Neal.

Ruffin says O'Neal believes his life was saved by Hayes because, in Ruffin's words, "Smith had a gun and was going to shoot it."

Hayes' lawyer has insisted that Hayes was not the aggressor in the shooting.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

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