CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Tribune is reporting former Bears safety Dave Duerson died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest, and the co-director of a medical school program tells The Associated Press his family has agreed to donate his brain for research.
The Tribune, citing an unidentified person with knowledge of the situation, reported on its website Saturday that Duerson’s death has been ruled a suicide. His body was found Thursday in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla.
Messages were left by the AP seeking comment from Miami-Dade County’s chief medical examiner. A Miami-Dade police supervisor said the department had no information regarding the cause of Duerson’s death.
Chris Nowinski, part of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine, confirmed to the AP that Duerson’s brain has been donated to the study.
