Professional PUBG player Taylor ‘TaylorJay’ Jeffrey Johnson shocked the esports world with some tragic news. The player, who attempted to kill his lover, ended his life after a long police chase. An exemplary personality with his positive energy, TaylorJay’s former teammates could not hide their surprise at this tragedy.
Johnson, 24, escaped the police as they tried to arrest him for a murder case. As reported by PennLive, state police became aware of TaylorJay’s presence in Adams County. A short time later, 24-year-old Johnson’s vehicle was found empty on Route 234. He crashed into a barbed lane, rendering his vehicle unusable. He then fled to the wooded area near the highway on foot.
Pennsylvania State Police officer Megan Ammerman told local media that police searched for Johnson for five hours. However, this search ended in a tragedy. Because TaylorJay shot himself when the police found him at the end of the search. Ammerman told the media in his statement:
At that point we were trying to take him into custody. However, he was carrying a firearm. He then shot and killed himself with that gun.
TaylorJay Shot His Girlfriend Multiple Times
The source of the arrest warrant, was an argument the day before between Johnson and a woman in her 20s. Johnson repeatedly shot the young woman who was his girlfriend.
Police believe the attack was the result of a family dispute. After this, EMTs came to the scene and transferred the young woman to a hospital. Authorities announced that the woman’s health condition has been stable since then.
Local media said Johnson believed he killed the woman. That’s why he tried to escape, traveling to Pennsylvania from North Carolina the next day. However, the process did not go as he had hoped.
Johnson played professional PUBG from 2018 to late 2020. He competed in more than two dozen events and earned more than $16,000 under the “TaylorJay” gamertag. During his 29-month career, he represented esports organizations such as eUnited, Exodus and Pure Gaming. TaylorJay last competed with YAHO in September 2020.
Reactions From the World of Esports to the Tragic Event
Following the breaking news, Valorant player Skyler “Relyks” Weaver touched on the mental health struggles Johnson went through with a post on Twitter. Relyks stated that he talked about some conspiracy theories centered on Johnson and that he closed his social media accounts after receiving serious reactions.
Johnson’s former teammate from eUnited, Jaden “Vegas” James, also shared a post after the news about Johnson. In this post, he praised his former teammate’s positive energy and perspective. Vegas made the following statements in his post:
We express our deepest condolences to all those who were harmed in this tragic event. We hope similar incidents will not happen again.
