The family of the girlfriend of Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher was grieving and trying to make sense of the shooting tragedy that took the life of their daughter.
Belcher fatally shot Kasandra Perkins, 22, on Saturday and later committed suicide with a handgun at the Chiefs’ practice facility.
“On behalf of the Perkins Family, we appreciate the outpouring of love and concern for our Kasandra ‘Kasi’ Perkins,” the family said in a statement.
“Our hearts are truly broken for Kasi was a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, mother, cousin and friend..
The family asked for privacy as they grieved over their loss.
“Please keep us in your hearts and prayers as well as the Belcher family for two lives were loss,” it added in a statement.
“Again we thank you for your support, our wish is for Kasi to be remembered for the love she shared with us all. Kasi will be truly missed!”
Looking somber and sad outside the family home, Belcher’s relatives described the weekend’s events as an “inconceivable tragedy.”
“As a family, no words can express the sorrow we feel over the loss of Jovan and Kasandra,” Belcher’s cousin Yamiesse Lawrence said.
She said the family was “overwhelmed with both sadness and confusion,” and extended thoughts and prayers to the Perkins family.
The Chiefs beat the Carolina Panthers 27-21 Sunday, in the wake of an incident in which police said Belcher shot and killed the mother of his three-month-old daughter.
He then drove to the team’s Arrowhead Stadium and turned a gun on himself, fatally pulling the trigger in front of head coach Romeo Crennel and other staff.
With heavy hearts, the Chiefs said they would start shifting their focus to their next game.
“We will do it like any other family would do. Jovan is a member of the family,” Crennel said. “What he did, we didn’t like, we’re not crazy about, but he’s still a member of our family.”
Family mourns NFL shooting death
