‘Wrong place, wrong time’: NFL rookie shot while visiting aunt in DC
Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman was shot four times while riding in a car in Washington, DC, team officials and his agent said.
Twyman, a 21-year-old rookie who was drafted in May, was one of four victims during Monday’s shooting in his hometown, where he was visiting an aunt, ESPN reported.
“Wrong place, wrong time,” Twyman’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “In talking to him today, he’s going to be OK — that’s all that matters. We’re thankful he’s OK. He will make a full recovery.”
Twyman was struck by rounds in the arm, leg, buttocks and shoulder, but is expected to be released from a hospital later this week, Rosenhaus said.
“There doesn’t appear to be long-term injuries that would prohibit him from playing this season,” Rosenhaus continued, adding that Twyman had superficial wounds that won’t require surgery.
The Vikings released a statement late Monday indicating the team had been in “direct contact” with Twyman’s relatives following the 5 p.m. shooting in northeast Washington.
“At this time we will defer any comment to the proper authorities,” the team said.
Metropolitan police said in a statement that cops responded to the scene after gunshots were heard in the area and found two men who had been wounded. They were taken to a hospital, but were expected to survive. Two other victims who also had non-life-threatening wounds sought treatment at other hospitals, police said.
A silver SUV is being sought in connection to the shooting. No arrests had been made in the ongoing investigation as of Tuesday afternoon, police told The Post.
The shooting occurred in the District’s Lincoln Heights section, where Twyman was raised. The 6-foot-2, 290-pound lineman who played college ball at Pittsburgh had previously lost two relatives to gun violence, the Washington Post reported.
“My family members, every other week, one of them deceased or one of them just in a shootout or one of them locked up,” Twyman told the newspaper in 2016. “It’s just pushed me to try to get everybody, get all my family members, out of poverty. Nobody needs to be around this.”
Twyman’s uncle was killed during a drive-by shooting in 2014 roughly a half-mile from Monday’s shooting scene. In 2010, Twyman’s older brother was killed less than a mile from where he was shot, the newspaper reported.
Investigators have not determined a motive in the shooting, according to the Washington Post. Dozens of shell casings were recovered at the scene, WUSA reported.
Anyone with information about the vehicle identified by police should call investigators at (202) 727-9099.
