LUCEDALE, Miss. — A Mississippi grand jury has ruled that the shooting death of a star high school football player during a traffic stop was accidental.

The ruling Thursday tracks the conclusion of the initial investigation that Billey Joe Johnson had shot himself with a 12-gauge shotgun.

The 17-year-old's death has inflamed suspicion since Dec. 8. That's when the standout running back at George County High School was killed after a deputy stopped him for running a red light.

Johnson's family and the NAACP had rejected suicide as the cause of the death. They have said he had too much to live for including a shot at playing in the NFL.