The Advocate · Apr 11, 2016
‘Disbelief, shock’ for Saints, NFL after Smith’s killing
The first call hit Scott Shanle’s phone a little after midnight.
Shanle called Jonathan Vilma, breaking the news to him, and then the pair of former Saints linebackers tried to process the situation together. For a minute, they convinced themselves the news wasn’t true.
Then a second call came.
It was true. Former Saints defensive end Will Smith, a key member of the New Orleans team that won the Super Bowl in February 2010, had been shot and killed late Saturday night after a traffic mishap in the Lower Garden District, and his wife had been wounded.
“I was in disbelief, shock,” Shanle said. “So many different emotions.”
