Tyler Honeycutt dead: NBA star dies after exchanging fire with police in LA

27-year-old had played for the Sacramento Kings and BC Khimki

Tyler Honeycutt has died aged 27 (EPA/Roberto Bregani)

Basketball player Tyler Honeycutt has died following a stand-off with police in America, according to reports.

The mother of the 27-year-old who had previously played for the Sacramento Kings in the NBA, reportedly said her son was acting “erratically” on Friday evening.

Mr Honeycott’s high school coach and family friend Bort Escoto told the LA Times that Mr Honeycutt's mother asked him to call the police after sharing concerns about her son’s behaviour.

Los Angeles Police Department later said a man they had an exchange with in the Sherman Oaks area in LA had died from a “self-inflicted gunshot wound”, though they did not name the man.

Moscow’s BC Khimki basketball team, who Mr Honeycutt had recently played for, confirmed his death on Twitter.

He wrote: “Tyler Honeycutt passed away... Player's agent, mr. Aaron Mintz, confirmed the death of Honeycutt @Khimkibasket expresses its deepest condolences to Tyler's family and friends Rest in peace, Tyler."

In a series of messages on Twitter, the LAPD said officers were responding to “a man with a gun”, who they say fired a shot from within a residence which he had barricaded himself inside.

They said officers “returned fire” but initially did not know if the man was hit.

A crisis negotiation team was also on the scene.

When a Swat team entered the property, they found the man was dead.

Though initially the LAPD thought he may have been hit by a police bullet, it later confirmed this was not the case and he had in fact died from a self-inflicted gun injury.

In a post on Twitter, the LAPD wrote today: “Regarding last nights Officer-Involved Shooting in Van Nuys Division, it appears as if the suspect was not struck by any officer’s gunfire. The suspect appears to have sustained injuries consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”

No police were injured and a handgun was found at the scene, according to LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein.

Mr Honeycutt, 27, had played for the UCLA Bruins before being picked by Sacramento Kings and had played in both the NBA and European basketball leagues.

He has played for teams including BC Khimki, Anadolu Efes and Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

Tributes are pouring in for the former NBA star.

One post said: “The Euroleague Basketball family expresses its sadness on the untimely passing of Tyler Honeycutt and offers condolences to his family, friends, teammates, coaches and many fans. May he rest in peace.”

Mr Escoto, who had coached Mr Honeycutt at Sylmar High School said he was a “fantastic kid” but told the LA Times that when he last spoke to him at around 4pm on Friday it had “seemed like he was burdened with something.”