Former Texas A&M wide receiver Thomas Johnson randomly attacked a jogger early Monday morning and murdered the man with a machete.
According to FOX 4 News in Dallas, police say Johnson used the weapon to kill the jogger at around 8 a.m. Monday and later admitted to the crime, calling police from a nearby location to confess.
A cyclist witnessed the attack.
“You could tell it was a machete, coming down on what I wasn’t sure at first but when I got closer I could tell it was a body,” the witness, who identified himself as Brandon, told FOX 4. “And he was repeatedly hitting it in the back of the neck.”
Dallas Police Department Deputy Chief Rob Sherwin said that Johnson was “angry about his situation” and described the murder as “quite shocking.”
In addition to a criminal record that includes evading arrest, burglary and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, Johnson also has a history of bizarre behavior. The 21-year-old was a highly-touted recruit out of high school, but he suddenly went missing after Texas A&M’s upset victory over Alabama in 2012. It was later announced that Johnson, a freshman at the time, was leaving the team.
Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the victim.
