JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP via Getty Images
- A professional gamer reportedly died by suicide after a police chase.
- A manhunt occurred after Taylor Jeffrey Johnson was reportedly a suspect in a North Carolina shooting.
- A spokesperson for his former esports team told Insider the team was "saddened to hear the news."
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
A 24-year-old died by suicide after a chase with police in Heidlersburg, Pennsylvania, Adams County Sheriff James Muller confirmed to Insider. Taylor Jeffrey Johnson was a professional player of the video game "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" (PUBG) under the name "TaylorJay" for two years, according to Dexerto.
Johnson was accused of shooting a woman several times in the Cary, North Carolina, area on Tuesday night, according to the Daily Voice, a local outlet, citing police sources. PennLive reported the Pennsylvania State Police began pursuing Johnson on Wednesday afternoon.
It was not immediately clear why Johnson traveled from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.
A spokesperson for eUnited, a professional esports team that Johnson played on at "PUBG" tournaments from 2018 to 2019, told Insider that the team was "saddened to hear the news about Taylor" and sent condolences "to all of those involved in this tragedy." The team has more than 15,000 followers on Twitch and 105,000 followers on Twitter.
Along with eUnited, Johnson played for the organizations Pure Gaming, Exodus, and most recently YAHO in August 2020, and competed in 10 professional PUBG tournaments across the two years of his career, according to Liquipedia, a Wikipedia-type database for eSports-related information. His account on Twitch, where many professional gamers stream, has fewer than 1,000 followers.
Local21News reported that police said they used "spike strips" to stop Johnson's vehicle, which led to him running into the woods. A police helicopter and several other units were involved in tracking down Johnson, police told the outlet.
The North Carolina person whose shooting sparked police to pursue Johnson was in stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon, according to WRAL, a Raleigh-based local news station.
The Raleigh Police Department and Pennsylvania State Police did not respond to requests for comment.
Read more stories from Insider's Digital Culture desk.