Former NFL Lineman Killed

Tom Neville, a 350-pound former NFL lineman, was shot dead by police, who say he escaped from a psychiatric hospital and barricaded himself in an apartment.

Neville, 36, died Saturday. He received about a dozen gunshot wounds, Fresno County Coroner David Hadden said.

Neville played for the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers in a career that lasted from 1986-92.

The standoff began after Neville escaped Cedar Vista Hospital Fresno on Friday night, police Lt. John Fries said. Neville broke into an apartment complex across the street and was found hiding in a supply closet at about 2 a.m. Saturday.

"When officers were attempting to control him, he literally threw them aside, two to three officers into a wall," Fries said.

Officers began firing after nine non-lethal bean bag shots failed to subdue Neville.

"It was kind of a desperate situation," Fries said. "When he began to get control of an officer's weapon, they had no choice but to shoot him."

Three officers sustained minor injuries.

Neville had been hospitalized since Wednesday, when police received two complaints from a Fresno hotel that Neville, who was armed with a hunting rifle, was acting"bizarre" and "out of control,'' police said.

On Friday, the 6-foot-5 Neville assaulted another patient, then rammed through a locked, steel door.

"He took a full run at it, like you would a tackling dummy, and broke it wide open," Fries said.

Friends and family said Neville, who had been living with his wife and 20-month-old son in Fairbanks, Alaska, had been in Fresno for less than a week.

"It's a complete shock to everybody," said Sherell Neville, his stepsister. "This was not at all like how he would normally behave."

"He was a completely rational and calm person. I have no idea what the events were that led up to this."

Neville, an offensive lineman, attended Weber State in Utah before transferring to Fresno State.

Former Fresno State football coach Jim Sweeney, who coached Neville between 1982-84, called him a"gentle giant."

"He was a very quiet, good football player," Sweeney said."His chief asset was his size and intelligence. He was a wonderful kid."

"I can't imagine what went wrong."