Ex-NFL Player Dies After Accidentally Shooting Himself in Stomach

Roseville, MI — Former Central Michigan University football star Zurlon Tipton, who played in the NFL for a season with the Indianapolis Colts, died Tuesday after accidentally shooting himself while removing firearms from a vehicle he was about to have serviced at a southeast Michigan car dealership, police said.

Tipton, a Sterling Heights native, was shot in the stomach about 9:30 a.m. while trying to retrieve the bag containing two guns from his Jeep Wrangler while it was parked in a service bay at Mike Riehl’s Roseville Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM dealership at 25800 Gratiot, according to a news release.

In the release, police said “it is not clear at this time why the subject felt it necessary to be in possession of two handguns.”

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Four employees of the dealership were working nearby, but no one else was injured in the accident.

Mark DeMara, the general manager of the dealership, told The Macomb Daily that after Tipton was shot, employee Craig Robertson, a retired fire marshal for the Roseville Fire Department, tried to stabilize him until rescue workers arrived and took over.

“Our management team really stepped up in this case and were an immense help,” DeMara said. “Thankfully, nobody else got hurt. It appeared to be an unfortunate accident.”

Tipton, 26, was talking as he was transported to St. John Hospital and Medical Center, where he died Tuesday afternoon, police said. Police didn’t release his name at the time, but WDIV-TV has identified the victim as Tipton, who played for the Colts in the 2014-2015 season.

It’s unclear if Tipton was licensed to carry the weapons.

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