Cardell Hayes says he shot Will Smith in self defense and has begun to point out evidence to support his claim.  Surveillance video appeared to reveal that Smith rear-ended Hayes’ Hummer first then drove off.  Hayes then followed Smith and hit his Mercedes which resulted in the two exchanging words and Hayes firing his gun.  Hayes’ attorney, John Fuller said Smith was the aggressor and Hayes was told that Smith had a gun.  After executing a search warrant, the New Orleans PD indeed found a loaded 9mm handgun in Smith’s SUV.  Now Hayes is being dubbed a hero by the passenger  who was in his car, Kevin O’Neal.  The passenger says Hayes saved his life and multiple others as he believed Smith was going to shoot them.

“My client believes that Cardell saved his life,” said Tanzanika Ruffin, the attorney for passenger Kevin O’Neal, in a statement to WDSU-TV. “Smith had a gun and was going to shoot it and Cardell may have saved both of their lives.”

Smith was shot in the back and killed as he went back into his car.  His wife Raquel was shot in the leg and survived.  Hayes called 911 and remained on the scene.  He was arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

“In my mind this is justifiable homicide,” Ruffin continued in the statement, “Was Will Smith acting like a Saint? This was a hit-and-run that ended up in a tragedy. You’ve got the aggression of two football players, facing off with each other as if they are on the field and you are going to get your point across by any means necessary.”

I previously reported that at least one witness says Smith threatened to get his gun first during the argument.

Smith’s attorney tells a different story.

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source: USA Today