Bengals running back Joe Mixon is facing a lawsuit stemming from the shooting that occurred in his backyard in March, ESPN’s Ben Baby reports.
During the incident, a teenage boy was shot in the foot on neighboring property that belonged to Mixon. Baby reports that the teenager’s mother is seeking damages from both Mixon and Lamonte Brewer, the boyfriend of Mixon’s sister, for the incident.
In March, a boy was shot while playing a game called “dart wars” with other children, involving toy guns with foam bullets. Around 8:30 p.m., 11 shots were fired from Mixon’s home, one of which struck the victim in the foot.
According to the 911 call, Mixon’s trainer Sean Pena told police that the boy was carrying a Kel-Tec gun instead of a toy gun. However, the lawsuit claims that someone in the house should have known the gun was a toy.
“The defense that the Mixon home occupants felt in fear of their lives from 16-year-old high school students playing Nerf Wars with green, blue, and grey colored toy Nerf rifles in the neighbor’s yard is utterly ridiculous, unbelievable,” the lawsuit states, per ESPN. “It is unreasonable that Joe Mixon or anyone in Mixon’s home could have feared for their lives.”
A few weeks after the incident, police arrested Brewer and charged him with felonious assault, having a weapon under disability, tampering with evidence and obstructing justice.
The civil lawsuit argues that Mixon provided the bullets and gun used in the shooting, and the family believes Mixon could have settled but “has taken no responsibility for any of the harm that he has caused,” according to Baby. The family of the boy, who sold their home since the incident, is also claiming negligence.
