Tragic news out of Denton, Texas. Former West Mesquite star, and current Utah running back, Ty Jordan, died last night by what is being described as an accidental self-inflicted gunshot.
Police received a call at 10:38pm last night of a shooting. When they arrived, they attempted life-saving measures and they transported Jordan to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Police Department public information officer Allison Beck talked to ESPN and said to them, “Following a preliminary investigation, we do believe that this was an accidental shooting, where the victim accidentally shot himself.”
Jordan was the Co-District 7-5A Offensive Player of the Year as a senior at West Mesquite. He rushed for 2,589 and 35 touchdowns in high school and had 13 games of 100+ yards. He was the #8 all-purpose running back in the country.
Ty Jordan was on his way to stardom at Utah. In the 5 game shortened season, he rushed for 597 yards and 6 touchdowns. He had three consecutive 100-yard rushing games. He was named the Pac-12′s Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Jordan made national news last year. His mother, Tiffany, was battling stage 4 brain and bone cancer. After losing to Sherman, Sherman player Gage Smith asked Jordan if he could pray with him. The two opponents took a knee together and prayed. The photo of that went viral.
Jordan lost his mother to cancer in August. He announced her death with this tweet:
Dear mom, I love you so much, you’ve shown me over the past couple years how much a warrior you are. Watch over me and guide me momma 💔💔 Rest in Paradise A true Soldier! pic.twitter.com/ESoWShaRS9
— Ty Jordan ✌🏾 (@_ylfotyt) August 14, 2020
The Utah fan base and the texas high school football fans community have been sharing their sadness over the tragic death of Joran.
Utah Head Football Coach, Kyle Whittingham, released this statement:
“Words cannot express the devastation and heartache that our team is feeling right now upon learning of the tragic death of our teammate and brother, Ty Jordan. Ty’s personality and smile were infectious and he made a huge impact on our program in the short time he was with us. He leaves an indelible mark on each of us and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. From the bottom of our hearts, all of us in the Utah Football Family want to say we love you Ty and may you rest in peace.”
Current West Mesquite Head Football Coach, Frank Sandoval, released this on twitter:
Our prayers go out to the family, friends, and teammates of Ty Jordan. He made a huge impact in a short time. pic.twitter.com/OWMZtqtcOS
— Frank Sandoval (@Coach_Sandoval1) December 26, 2020
Utah Jazz star, Donovan Mitchel, tweeted:
Man this is so wild!!! I didn’t know him but I did know He had an amazing season as a freshman!! And was going to be an amazing talent Rest In Peace Ty Jordan man! This is crazy!! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 https://t.co/t5T9wopaOb
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) December 26, 2020
The Utah football team tweeted this:
Rest In Peace, #22. Forever in our hearts.
We love you, Ty. pic.twitter.com/ZaXjWKg4Nc
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 26, 2020
Rest in peace, Ty.