While that’s a serious-sounding headline, it could’ve been a lot worse for a pair of Vanderbilt football players.
According to WSMV-TV, O’montae “Tae” Daley and Frank Coppet were shot outside of a Nashville Target store Monday night. The former, a true freshman defensive back, was shot in the leg while the latter, a redshirt freshman defensive back, was shot in the arm. Both of the injuries are considered non-critical.
The shooting occurred after a third Commodore football player, wide receiver Donaven Tennyson (pictured), had his phone stolen in an earlier incident and, along with the other two, concocted what was described by police as “an ill-conceived plan to recover a stolen cellphone.”
From the television station’s report:Police said the incident leading up to the shooting happened on Monday when... Tennyson met up with someone to try to sell his cellphone. Tennyson’s cellphone was stolen during the meeting in the parking lot of the Chili’s on West End.
Tennyson told police he noticed his stolen phone was listed online, which is when he reportedly made a fake profile and arranged a meeting with the seller at Target.
The 19-year-old brought two friends with him, 18-year-olds O’montae Daley and Frank Coppet. The trio brought a pellet pistol with them.
Coppet reportedly got out of their car with the pellet gun, which is when two people in a gray Buick sedan opened fire.
In addition to getting shot, one of the victim’s had his car stolen by the alleged shooters for good measure. Police are still searching for the alleged assailants, and haven’t yet released a description.
The school has yet to publicly comment on the shooting.
Last season as a true freshman, Tennyson played in eight games for the Commodores, while Coppet took a redshirt his first season with the program. Daley was a three-star member of Vandy’s 2017 recruiting class coming out of high school in Georgia. He signed early and participated in spring practice this year.