HARVEY, La. -- A road rage incident possibly sparked by a driver cutting off another on a nearby bridge spiraled into a shooting that left an ex-NFL player dead, authorities said, amid criticism the shooter was allowed to go free.Joe McKnight, 28, was shot Thursday afternoon in Terrytown, across the Mississippi River from New Orleans. Authorities identified Ronald Gasser, 54, as the shooter and released him overnight.At a news conference Friday, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Newell Normand said the altercation started on a nearby bridge and proceeded into the New Orleans suburb.Witnesses reported hearing rapid gunfire after the two men were in a heated argument.Normand said Gasser shot McKnight three times from inside his car while McKnight stood outside and then gave his handgun to deputies when they arrived at the scene soon afterward. No weapon was found on or near McKnights body, authorities said.No charges have been filed, and some have criticized the sheriff for releasing Gasser.Morris Reed Sr., president of the New Orleans branch of the NAACP, was part of a small group of protesters outside the sheriffs office Friday. He said they would ask the Department of Justice to open an independent investigation into the shooting.Until someone is charged with a crime, justice is not served, he said on local media.Dozens of people gathered at the scene of the shooting Friday night, holding hands in prayer and lighting candles. One woman held a sign saying This is murder.Normand defended his handling of the case, saying they would investigate thoroughly. Speaking of Gassers release, the sheriff said the state has certain statutes that provide a defense to certain crimes but did not go into detail.Normand rejected accounts in local media speculating about the shooting. He said theres no video of the incident and Gasser did not stand over McKnight, firing. Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich said McKnights three wounds were not consistent with being shot from above.When asked whether the states stand your ground law will play a role, Normand said: It is one of the issues that looms on the horizon, before saying he didnt want to give an opinion.Stand your ground laws give people wide latitude to use deadly force when they believe they are in danger. Dane Ciolino, a Loyola University law professor in New Orleans, says under such laws people engaged in lawful activity in a place where they have a lawful right to be, dont have to retreat.He said it ... boils down to whether the killing is necessary for this man to save his life.But news that Gasser has been involved in a similar altercation -- at the same intersection -- with a driver a decade ago will likely raise further questions about who was the aggressor.Normand said in a press release late Friday that in February 2006, a man observed a truck driving erratically and called a number on the truck, speaking to a man later identified as Gasser.Gasser and the man got into a fight on the phone and then Gasser followed the man to a service station, confronted him and hit him several times. Gasser drove away and the victim called 911.Investigators found Gasser and issued a misdemeanor summons for simple battery, which was later dismissed. Authorities said they are trying to determine why it was dismissed.McKnights grandmother, Barbara Franklin, said relatives are trying to find out our own selves just what happened and why Gasser was released.He might be released now, but God is going to bring about justice in it, she said by phone.McKnights death was eerily similar to that of former New Orleans Saints player Will Smith who was killed last April in a shooting sparked by a traffic altercation.The man accused of shooting Smith goes on trial Monday in New Orleans. The discrepancy in how the two shooters were treated stood out for Kawanee Holmes, of Gretna, Louisiana who came to the intersection where McKnight was shot to leave balloons and flowers with a friend.It wasnt justified what he did. He could have defused the situation by driving away, Holmes said.McKnight is black and Gasser is white, authorities said. Normand denied race played a role, pointing out that the man who raised McKnight used to be a sheriffs deputy and many people in the department are close to his family.McKnight played three seasons for the New York Jets and one with the Kansas City Chiefs. He spent this season in the Canadian Football League. He was considered the nations No. 1 running back recruit when he came out of Louisiana in 2006 and signed with the University of Southern California.Former teammates in New York remembered McKnight fondly.I enjoyed the time when he was here and getting to know him as a person. I think its going to hurt his son the most and thats what is really bothering me -- knowing that a kid will have to grow up without his dad, said Muhammad Wilkerson.The Jets plan a moment of silence before Mondays game to honor McKnight.Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll coached McKnight at USC and said he had talked with McKnight just three weeks ago in California.He had a great heart, he was a great kid, he was fun to be around, fun loving but you just knew he had a lot of stuff to overcome and he was making it, Carroll said. Were going to miss him greatly, Carroll said.---Associated Press reporters Jeff Amy in Jackson, Mississippi, Dennis Waszak Jr. in Florham Park, New Jersey, and Tim Booth contributed to this report.---Follow Rebecca Santana on Twitter (at)ruskygal. Zlatan Ibrahimovic Jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Luke Shaw Manchester United Jersey . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer.com/womens-david-de-gea-manchester-united-jersey/ . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Michael Carrick Jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Guillermo Varela Jersey . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Great Britains Olympics team have been set a record-breaking target of 48 medals for this summers Rio Games, UK Sport has said.Team GB won 65 medals -- including 29 golds -- at the London Games in 2012, but the target, set by UK Sport in London on Thursday, would exceed the 47 medals won in Beijing in 2008, and would rank as the countrys greatest-ever away Games.UK Sport has set 47 medals as the minimum target with a haul of 79 viewed as the best outcome.And British cycling, despite former technical director Shane Suttons resignation in April amid allegations of sexism and bullying, are expected to be the most successful sport with a target of at least eight medals. Athletics (seven) and rowing (six) also feature at the top of UK Sports list.Meanwhile, the Paralympic team have been set an aim of at least 121 medals, which would better the haul they achieved in London.Beijing 2008 was a record breaking Olympics for Team GB, but Im confident we can top it in Rio and make this our best ever away Games, Simon Timson, Director of Performance at UK Sport, said.With the backing of National Lottery players and through our partnership with the British Olympic Association and the British Paralympic Association, ours will be the best supported and prepared athletes in Rio bar none, primed and ready to once again make the nation proud.In the wake of their bestt medal haul in more than a century in London four years ago, UK Sport initially aimed for even greater success in Brazil.dddddddddddd So the medal targets released on Thursday could be viewed as something of a backtrack.Everybody in the high-performance system invested a huge amount of physical and emotional energy into a home Games, Timson added.We delivered unprecedented success, and there was a real sense of a need to re-calibrate and re-energise the system for Rio so we set an aspirational target. It was based on ambition that would unite everybody in the high performance system to go that extra mile.Explaining the reviewed target, Timson added: Throughout the cycle we have been working with the sports on an individual basis and refining more precise medal targets.As the facts and reality of performances have come to light over the last two years it has become more obvious that a more realistic target is a best away Games ever in the Olympic Games.If all the stars align, it is possible that 66 could happen, but it is not probable and we dont see it as a likely outcome. But we have a great opportunity to have a fantastic Games that will unite the nation.The Rio Games get underway on August 5 and run until August 21. ' ' '