Actor Thomas Jefferson Byrd shot and killed, aged 70

Thomas Jefferson Byrd, who was best known for his frequent collaborations with Spike Lee, was shot and killed over the weekend. He was found early Saturday morning by police, with "multiple gunshot wounds in the back," at a residence in Atlanta, Georgia.

Anthony Grant, a spokesperson for the Atlanta Police Department, confirmed the news on Sunday. Homicide detectives are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident, and an investigation is under way.

The New York Times reported that Byrd's former representative and friend Craig Wyckoff said on Sunday that he had spoken with a "circle of friends," who noted that Byrd had gotten into an argument with someone at a store, and that "that person must have followed him home."

Byrd was a long time collaborator of Spike Lee's. He worked on eight of Lee's films from 1995 to 2015, including Clockers, Girl 6 and Da Sweet Blood of Jesus. The director paid tribute to Byrd on his Instagram yesterday.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

I’m So Sad To Announce The Tragic Murder Of Our Beloved Brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd Last Night In Atlanta,Georgia. Tom Is My Guy,Here Below You See Him As The Frightening Character Errol Barnes In CLOCKERS. Brother Byrd Also Did His Thang In My Joints- CHI-RAQ,SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS, RED HOOK SUMMER,BAMBOOZLED,HE GOT GAME,GET ON THE BUS,GIRL 6 And CLOCKERS. May We All Wish Condolences And Blessings To His Family. Rest In Peace Brother Byrd.🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

A post shared by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Oct 4, 2020 at 10:40am PDT