Kobe Bryant Killed: 5 Things To Know

Basketball great Kobe Bryant died Sunday in a helicopter crash in the Southern California coastal community of Calabasas. While details related to what caused the crash are not yet clear, here are five things to know:

1) The crash happened just before 10 a.m. Sunday in the 4200 block of Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Lost Hills/Malibu station. That's west of Los Angeles and near the community of Malibu. A total of nine people were killed in the fiery crash. The other victims included Bryant's 13-year-old daughter, Gianna; John Altobelli, head baseball coach at Orange Coast College; Altobelli's wife, Keri, and his daughter, Alyssa, who was a teammate of Gianna's, according to the Los Angeles Times. The other four victims have not been publicly identified.

2) Bryant was an avid pilot, though it's not yet known who was flying the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter when it crashed. According to published reports, Bryant would use his own helicopter to shuttle himself between his Orange County home and the Staples Center in Los Angeles for games.

3) Yesterday, Bryant was passed by LeBron James for third place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. The last posting by Bryant on social media included a shout-out to James: "Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother #33644."

4) Fans are already gathering by the dozens outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles and Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Newport Beach, where Bryant attended Mass regularly with his family, to pay their respects to the NBA legend. Images from the Los Angeles scene show fans are bringing flowers, signs and more to express their shock and grief at the news.

5) The National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, and the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, will both be investigating the crash. An investigation for a wreck like this can take weeks, months or even years to complete. Transportation officials are not releasing any additional information at this time.