Will Smith, the former Saints defensive end, was killed and his wife was wounded in a late-night shooting in New Orleans on Saturday (April 9), authorities said. 
 
 Orleans Parish Coroner Dr. Jeffrey Rouse confirmed Smith was the fatal victim in the incident. Police said Smith's wife was wounded and was taken to a hospital. The shooter is being questioned, police said. 
 
 The double shooting took place around 11:29 p.m., near the intersection of Sophie Wright Place and Felicity Street in the Lower Garden District, NOPD said. 
 
 Police said Smith, 34, and his wife, Racquel, were traveling eastbound on Sophie Wright Place when their Mercedes Benz SUV was rear-ended by a Hummer H2. The collision caused the Smith's vehicle to hit a Chevrolet Impala traveling along the same street. 
 
 Smith and the driver of the Hummer "exchanged words, at which time the driver of the Hummer produced a handgun and shot the male victim (Smith) multiple times and his 34-year-old wife twice in the right leg," said NOPD spokesman Juan Barnes. 
 
 Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. Racquel Smith was transported to a hospital, authorities said. Police said the 30-year-old driver of the Hummer is in custody and being interviewed by investigators. The gun used in the shooting has been recovered. 
 
 A witness at the scene, Janis Baehr, a tourist in town for the French Quarter Festival, said she was walking near the intersection and heard the crash and then six to eight gunshots. "It was a crash, boom, band," she said. She then saw a woman down on the pavement and went to her aid, giving her ice chips. 
 
 The witness said the woman appeared to have two gunshot wounds to her leg. "I kept her company until the paramedics came because she was screaming," Baehr said. 
 
 The woman was taken away by ambulance. 
 
 A man, who would only give his first name as Michael, said he was on the street and heard the crash, followed by gunshots. He said he took cover in nearby bushes with his dogs. 
 
 A woman, who lived near the scene, but declined to give her name, said she heard noises outside and saw a woman arguing with a man, but when she heard gunshots, she ran back inside of her house. 
 
 Smith was slumped over the steering wheel of his vehicle, which appeared to have a gunshot hole in the windshield. 
 
 New Orleans police and the coroner's office remained scene investigating. At around 2:45 a.m., Smith was removed from the scene in a coroner's van. A tow truck arrived to take his vehicle from the street. 
 
 Staff writers Michael DeMocker, Evan Woodberry and Katherine Terrell contributed to this report. This story was updated to include information from the Orleans Parish coroner. ||||| (CNN) Will Smith and his wife, Racquel, were "having a blast" at a city festival mere hours before they were both shot, leaving the former New Orleans Saints defensive end dead and his wife hospitalized. 
 
 New Orleans Police Department spokesman Tyler Gamble was reluctant to use the term "road rage," but a police statement says Smith and the driver of a Hummer SUV "exchanged words" before the Hummer's driver shot Smith multiple times and shot Smith's wife in the right leg. 
 
 Former New Orleans police officer Billy Ceravolo, who was at dinner with Will and Racquel Smith before the shooting, told CNN over the phone that Racquel Smith was on the mend, but he declined to answer further questions. 
 
 "She is out of surgery and doing well, and that's the highlight of today," he said. 
 
 The Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office booked Cardell Hayes, 28, on second-degree murder charges early Sunday, Gamble said. Bond was set at $1 million, according to jail records. 
 
 Cardell Hayes is charged with second-degree murder, police say. 
 
 "I don't have any information indicating they knew each other at this time," Gamble told CNN in an email, noting that the investigation was ongoing. New Orleans Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said during a Sunday afternoon news conference that police are still investigating whether Hayes and Smith knew each other. 
 
 One matter that has become part of the probe, Harrison said, is whether a decade-old lawsuit that Hayes filed against the city after police fatally shot his father has anything to do with Saturday's shooting. Ceravolo is named in the lawsuit. 
 
 A dinner, then a deadly shooting 
 
 Details are still emerging about the moments leading up to the deadly shooting. 
 
 Earlier Saturday, Smith posted a selfie of him and his wife. The caption said the pair were having fun Saturday night at the French Quarter Fest, an annual event in the famed New Orleans district. 
 
 Having a blast at the #fqf2016 A photo posted by Will Smith (@iwillsmith) on Apr 9, 2016 at 5:44pm PDT 
 
 Shortly after the Instagram post, the couple had dinner at Sake Café. Ceravolo, former Saints teammate Pierre Thomas and a sports agent joined them, restaurant General Manager Dave Matherne said. 
 
 "You could hear them laughing at the table," Matherne said. "It seemed they were having a really good time." 
 
 Just before the restaurant closed, around 11:15 p.m., the Smiths left in a Mercedes G63 SUV. 
 
 They were following two acquaintances in a gray Chevrolet Impala, police said in a statement. 
 
 It took only 10 blocks for the situation to turn dramatically. 
 
 As the vehicles approached a five-point intersection in the city's Lower Garden District neighborhood, Hayes was driving behind them in an orange Hummer H2, police said. 
 
 Hayes rear-ended the Mercedes, causing Smith's SUV to hit the Impala, according to police. 
 
 "At some point, the ... driver of the Hummer and Smith exchanged words," the police statement said. "The ... male driver produced a handgun and shot Smith multiple times, the female victim was also shot to the leg." 
 
 Wounded wife's cry: 'Where's my husband?' 
 
 Janis Baehr says she was inside a nearby bed-and-breakfast when she heard the vehicle crash, a heated dispute and at least five shots fired. 
 
 The Florida resident, who was in town to celebrate a friend's birthday at the festival, told CNN she went outside after she heard a woman shout, "Please, God, somebody, please help me!" 
 
 "(Racquel Smith) was screaming, lying there on the sidewalk," Baehr said. "I got there on the ground with her." 
 
 They prayed together, she said, before paramedics rushed Racquel Smith to the hospital with gunshot wounds in her leg. According to Baehr, Racquel Smith cried out, "Where's my husband? Where's my husband?" 
 
 When police reached the scene at about 11:29 p.m., Will Smith was "in the middle of the street partially inside of his vehicle suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the body. He died at the scene," police said. 
 
 And Hayes was still there. 
 
 Investigators recovered the weapon they believe he used, and it had no record, Harrison said. Hayes also had a male passenger in the car with him. He was not identified, and Harrison said he had no information suggesting the passenger was involved in the shooting. 
 
 Detectives transported Hayes to the homicide office for questioning before taking him to Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office Central Lockup and booking him on a murder charge, police said. 
 
 A photographer for the The Times-Picayune in New Orleans posted a picture of Thomas, Smith's former teammate who dined with him Saturday night, standing at the scene of the shooting and looking distraught. 
 
 Photo: Former #Saint Pierre Thomas distraught at scene of Will Smith's murder on #NewOrleans pic.twitter.com/3BbaEYI1lX — Michael DeMocker (@MichaelDeMocker) April 10, 2016 
 
 Abutting the Mississippi River, the Lower Garden District neighborhood is known for its historic homes , some of which date back to the early 19th century. Lee Circle, a popular gathering spot during the city's Mardi Gras celebration, sits on the neighborhood's edge. 
 
 It's a relatively low-crime area, especially when compared with Central City to its west and the Central Business District and French Quarter to its north. Of more than 500 crimes reported in New Orleans in the last week, only a handful occurred in the Lower Garden District, most of them thefts, though there was an assault reported Friday, according to the city's crime map 
 
 'A force on the field' 
 
 Smith was a 34-year-old father of three who had reached the pinnacles of success at football's college and pro levels. Born in Queens and reared in Utica, New York, Smith attended Ohio State University, where he won a national championship in 2002. 
 
 The 18th pick in the 2004 NFL draft, he went on to play his entire career, 10 seasons, with the Saints. He was part of the 2010 squad that beat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. 
 
 He suffered a knee injury during the 2013 preseason, and the Saints released him in 2014. New England signed him, but he never took the field for the Patriots, who released him later that year. 
 
 The Saints released a statement calling the 2006 Pro Bowler "a force on the football field, a team and locker room leader both on and off it as a defensive team captain." He ranks fourth among the Saints' all-time sack leaders and is considered one of the franchise's great defensive players. 
 
 Smith played 139 games for the Saints, starting in 120, and racked up 618 tackles, 67.5 sacks, 19 forced fumbles and seven recovered fumbles. 
 
 "We are devastated and saddened by Will's tragic and preventable death due to a senseless act that will leave a lasting scar on our community forever. Will was more than an exceptional football player he was a father, a husband, a son, a brother and teammate to so many and an inspiration to countless more," Saints owners Tom Benson and his wife, Gayle, said in a statement. 
 
 Players and coaches from throughout Smith's career took to social media to express their condolences. 
 
 Charitable activities 
 
 The Saints statement notes that Smith and his wife were generous with their time and quick to participate in various initiatives. 
 
 He also played a big role in Kingsley House , as well as Bridge House and Grace House , and according to the Saints, he had been hosting an annual Smith Family Christmas event for Kingsley House families since 2012. The event, which was often held at the Saints practice facility, included a holiday meal, Christmas gifts from Santa Claus and a tour of the facility. 
 
 The Smiths hosted a celebrity waiter event for Bridge House and Grace House, which teach people who have become dependent on drugs or alcohol how to live sober and productively, the team said. Smith persuaded his teammates to serve as waiters for the event, even after he retired from football. 
 
 In addition, Smith sponsored a Utica event called "Evening With All-Stars," which honors the region's high school football stars. 
 
 #sportsdevelopmentsummit #thejackbrewerfoundation A photo posted by Will Smith (@iwillsmith) on Apr 6, 2016 at 12:50pm PDT 
 
 He wrote on his personal website that he wanted to be an FBI agent following his football career. 
 
 A life not without controversy 
 
 Despite the raft of accolades on and off the field, Smith did have blemishes on both his personal and professional record. 
 
 In 2011, the NFL announced it was suspending Smith for two games without pay for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. One of four players to test positive for the banned diuretic, StarCaps, in 2008, Smith was also fined an additional two game checks, according to the league 
 
 The suspension was later lifted. According to the NFL's allegations, the Saints paid bonuses for targeting and injuring opposing teams' players between 2009 and 2011. The following year, he was suspended for four games after he and three other Saints were implicated in the franchise's "bountygate" scandal The suspension was later lifted. According to the NFL's allegations, the Saints paid bonuses for targeting and injuring opposing teams' players between 2009 and 2011. 
 
 Off the field, Smith was arrested in 2010 and charged with public intoxication and domestic abuse battery after he allegedly dragged his wife by her hair outside a Lafayette, Louisiana, nightclub, according to The Times-Picayune . He and his wife both said it was a misunderstanding, the newspaper reported, and the charges were dropped after he completed community service and counseling requirements. 
 
 Will and Racquel Smith were married in 2008, the same year Smith reportedly signed a $70 million contract extension with the Saints. Their three children are William, Lisa Mya and Wynter Chase.
– Former New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, who played on the 2010 team that brought home the Super Bowl title, was "having a blast" Saturday night in NOLA's Garden district, per his own Instagram photo. Then abruptly, he was dead, reports the Times Picayune, the victim of an apparent road-rage incident that also sent the 34-year-old's wife to the hospital with gunshot wounds. The Smiths were apparently returning from a French Quarter party when their SUV was rear-ended by a Hummer. Smith exited the vehicle, and "exchanged words" with the driver, "at which time the driver of the Hummer produced a handgun and shot the male victim (Smith) multiple times and his 34-year-old wife twice in the right leg," per an NOPD rep. Cardell Hayes, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder, adds the Times-Picayune. "A senseless and tragic loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with Will Smith—his wife Racquel—his children William, Wynter and Lisa," said a Saints rep in a statement, via CNN.