Spike Lee mourns his longtime star Thomas Jefferson Byrd, 70, killed in apparent shooting
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a Tony Award-nominated actor best known onscreen for his roles in several Spike Lee films, was killed Saturday in Atlanta at age 70, Atlanta police confirmed.
Police were dispatched to a home in Atlanta at 1:45 a.m. local time Sunday, where they found an unresponsive man, later identified as Byrd. Paramedics pronounced him dead from multiple gunshot wounds to the back, Atlanta police spokesperson Anthony Grant told reporters.