POWDER SPRINGS - Rajaan Bennett, 18, a McEachern High School star football player, was shot to death early Thursday morning by a man who had once been his mother's boyfriend, Powder Springs Police said.

The gunman, believed to be Clifton O'Neal Steger, 39, of Millegeville, then shot himself in the head, police said. Rajaan's uncle, Taiwan Hunter, 32, was also shot. Hunter's injuries were potentially life-threatening, and he was in critical condition Thursday afternoon after undergoing surgery at Atlanta Medical Center, Powder Springs Police Maj. Charles Spann said.

Rajaan's mother, Narjaketha, 37, and his two younger siblings escaped from the Woodcrest Drive home without injury, police said.

Bennett's mother called police about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, whispering a report of an armed person, Spann said.

When officers arrived at the home, they knocked on the front door and heard five gunshots from inside. That's when Bennett's mother and uncle ran from the house, and the children soon followed, police said.

Inside the home, police found Rajaan dead of at least one gunshot wound.

Powder Springs police would not say what may have led up to the shooting, though they had no previous interventions at the home. Steger had no previous arrests in Cobb or Baldwin counties, according to sheriff's offices in each county.

But Steger was with the family just weeks ago, standing behind Rajaan as he signed his letter of intent to play football at Vanderbilt University.

Rajaan had told the Journal before signing that he didn't want to go too far from home.

"I want my mom to be able to see me play," said Rajaan, who was raised by his mother after his father died. "I want to be around if she needs me."

On Thursday, Narjaketha Bennett was with family at an undisclosed location, Spann said.

In December, Rajaan was was named the AAAAA Offensive Player of the Year for the state of Georgia, by the Associated Press.

"It's very exciting," Rajaan said at the time. "It means I did something right."

His death shocked and saddened everyone at McEachern, athletic director Jimmy Dorsey said.

"We're just devastated," Dorsey said. "This is a tragedy. A senseless, gut-wrenching tragedy, and it has shaken the entire McEachern family. He was a friend to everybody on this campus."

"Everybody knew Rajaan. Rajaan is what McEachern High School is all about," Dorsey said. "It's what everybody wants their kid to grow up and be like - he was a model for that."

Football coach Kyle Hockman said Rajaan's humble nature and his maturity made him special.

"He made me a better person, there's no question about it. I feel very blessed just to have known him and been a part of his life," Hockman said.