‘Keep Me In Your Prayers,’ NFL Rookie Damond Powell, Jr. Asks Fans After Getting Shot In Face Outside Of Home In Ohio
An NFL rookie asks the public to keep him in their prayers as he recovers from being shot in the face while outside of his grandmother’s home in Ohio during a cook-out, but injuries sustained in the shooting do not appear life threatening, reports Toledo Blade.
On July 25, 22-year-old Damond Powell, Jr. of South Toledo, and the newly signed receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, was at his grandmother’s house at 406 Heathshire Drive having a fish fry with friends and family. However, at approximately 8:30 p.m., the gathering came to an abrupt end when three masked men in a gold vehicle drove by the cook-out of 30 people and opened fire.
NFL rookie Damond Powell was shot in the face outside his home: http://t.co/HUD3O9cvmW pic.twitter.com/x3C8Zrf7b2
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 26, 2015
A neighbor, Michael Johnson, who lives across the street told reporters that they initially thought it was fireworks until they realized that the NFL rookie had been shot in the face.
“It’s bad. We’ve never had nothing like this out here,” Johnson said. “We cleaned up the blood this morning.”
“No sense of him dying out here. He [Powell] is one of the nicest kids who set a good example for other young people.”
“He’s just trying to play football. I hope they didn’t take away his dreams.”
Johnson’s sister Brenda Darrington who was present during the shooting said, “It’s a blessing it didn’t hit one of us. It’s just so senseless. I knew him since he was knee-high.”
When the shooting occurred, everyone ran inside of the garage where Johnson desperately tried to reach Ohio police, but was placed on hold by 911 dispatch; the Arizona Cardinals rookie receiver was then rushed to the University of Toledo Medical Center by “private means” with non-life threatening injuries, according to Sporting News.
After hearing of the NFL rookie being shot in the face, the Arizona Cardinals released a statement, saying, “We are aware that Damond Powell was the victim of a shooting last night in Toledo, where he remains hospitalized. We have been in communication with his family to offer whatever support and resources we can provide. We will continue to monitor and provide updates as appropriate.”
[Image courtesy of Jamie Sabau / Getty Images]
