Two Vanderbilt football players were shot after a plan to recover a teammate's stolen cell phone went awry, according to a report in The Tennessean.The incident reportedly started when sophomore receiver Donaven Tennyson listed his phone for sale on a website and arranged to meet with a possible buyer in the parking lot of a nearby Chili's on Monday night. Tennyson told police that his phone was stolen at the meet-up, but he found it being offered for sale just hours later on the same site where the phone had originally been posted.
Tennyson then created a fake account on the site and expressed interest in buying the phone, arranging another meeting for later that evening, this time in the parking lot of a Target. He brought along two teammates, freshman Tae Daley and redshirt freshman Frank Coppet, and the trio allegedly took a pellet gun with them, telling police it was "to help get the phone back."
The group drove to the lot in Daley's car and pulled up next to the seller's Buick. During an ensuing altercation, a man in the Buick got out and allegedly fired at the players with a real pistol, while another man still in the Buick fired a shotgun.
Daley left the incident with a noncritical gunshot wound to his leg and Coppet with noncritical birdshot wounds to his arms according to The Tennessean. Police are reportedly still working to find the suspects who fled the scene.
Vanderbilt released a statement on the incident, stating, "Our foremost concern is the well-being of our students, but it appears their injuries are not life-threatening. The university is monitoring the situation and will determine if any action on the part of the university is appropriate."
As of Tuesday no charges had been filed against the players.