NBA player Bryce Dejean-Jones shot dead in Texas after reportedly entering the wrong apartment

Tributes for the 23-year-old basketballer have poured in from fans and sportspeople

Dejean-Jones was a rookie guard with the Pelicans for the last season and also played in college for Iowa State, the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and the University of Southern California (Getty Images)

An NBA player was shot dead early on Saturday morning in Dallas because he reportedly entered the wrong apartment.

Bryce Dejean-Jones, 23, who played for New Orleans Pelicans entered an apartment he thought belonged to “an estranged acquaintance”.

Police are currently investigating the death as homicide.

“An individual who believed to be breaking into the apartment of an estranged acquaintance inadvertently broke into the wrong apartment,” Joshua Pool, the manager of the apartment complex, wrote in an email obtained by USA Today Sports.

“After breaking in, the intruder was shot and later taken via ambulance to a local hospital. Fortunately, no residents were injured.”

The Dallas resident told police he was asleep when he heard someone enter his apartment by kicking open the front door to his apartment. He said he retrieved a handgun and shot Dejean-Jones.

“He stated he called out to the individual, but was not answered,” police said. “As the individual kicked the bedroom door, the resident fired his gun. The individual left the apartment and collapsed in the breezeway. The individual was transported to a local hospital where he died from his injuries.”

Police said there was no information which suggests Dejean-Jones knew the resident of the apartment he broke into and added that Dejean-Jones was not armed.

Dejean-Jones was a rookie guard with the Pelicans for the last season and also played in college for Iowa State, the University of Nevada in Las Vegas and the University of Southern California. Before joining New Orleans, Dejean-Jones played for the Idaho Stampede in the NBA Development League.

Tributes for the young basketball player have poured in from fellow sportspeople and fans.

“It is with deep sadness that the Pelicans organization acknowledges the sudden passing of Bryce Dejean-Jones,” the Pelicans said in a statement posted on their website. “We are devastated at the loss of this young man’s life who had such a promising future ahead of him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bryce’s family during this difficult time.”