Autopsy confirms Rashaan Salaam died of self-inflicted gunshot wound to head

Rashaan Salaam died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a suicide, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office said Thursday following an autopsy.

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Christian Clark
Rashaan Salaam, left, was found dead at a Boulder park Monday. He was 42. (Sandie Gohoc/Flickr)

Rashaan Salaam, left, was found dead at a Boulder park Dec. 5. His death was ruled a suicide. (Sandie Gohoc/Flickr)

Rashaan Salaam died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His death was ruled a suicide, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office said Thursday following an autopsy.

Salaam, who won a Heisman Trophy as a star running back at Colorado in 1994 and went on to play in the NFL, was 42.

A passerby found Salaam’s body on Dec. 5 at Eben G. Fine Park in Boulder.

Salaam is one of four men to rush for 2,000 yards in 11 games or less in a college season. He led the country in all-purpose yards in 1994 as well as touchdowns with 24.

“He was a very charismatic guy, and a hard worker,” said former Colorado offensive lineman Tony Berti, who played with Salaam, earlier this month. “He’d come to practice every day and work hard. He didn’t take time off. He wasn’t a prima donna. He was big. He was strong. He was athletic. He was that guy. … He was somebody you wanted to be around.”

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Rashaan Salaam, Colorado Buffaloes, CU-Boulder, colorado people's alliance