Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon is being sued by the parents of an Anderson Township (Ohio) teenager shot by a man who prosecutors say fired numerous rounds from Mixon's property, court records show.
April and Jason Bell filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Thursday, alleging Mixon and 34-year-old Lamonte Brewer were negligent in the incident.
The teen's parents claim the weapon and bullets Brewer allegedly used in the March 6 shooting were provided by Mixon. Brewer was not legally allowed to have a gun, court records show.
About 15 minutes before the shooting, the teen's friends spoke to Mixon over the fence that separates the two properties and told him that they were playing Nerf Wars.
Nerf Wars is a game organized by local high school students that involves pairs of teams facing off against each other in a bracket-style elimination.
"Dr. Jason Bell, who was in his study facing Mixon’s home while the shooting occurred, watched in fear and horror as his son was being shot at from Mixon’s property," the lawsuit states.
The document says Jason Bell treated the gunshot wound to his son's foot before the teen was taken to the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.
Brewer was indicted in March on charges of felonious assault, tampering with evidence and having weapons under disability. He is accused of firing around 10 shots, striking the then-16-year-old boy in the foot.
Shalonda Mixon, the running back's sister, is charged with tampering with evidence and obstructing justice. Investigators say she picked up shell casings at the scene.
Shalonda Mixon and Brewer were dating at the time of the incident.
Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers said Joe Mixon also had a weapon at the time of the shooting, but did not fire and did not commit a crime. She said Joe Mixon was in the yard with Brewer, but that Brewer was acting independently.
In a statement provided to the NFL Network, Joe Mixon's agent, Peter Schaffer, said his client returned from California on the day of the shooting.
He added that Joe Mixon and his physical therapist saw people running through the neighborhood with what appeared to be firearms, but they were playing dart wars with toy guns.
One of Joe Mixon's first phone calls was to the Bengals security team, according to the prosecutor.
Powers said Joe Mixon had received threats on social media and his concerns were heightened as the juveniles surrounded his yard with the toy weapons.
The prosecutor said Brewer and others should have been able to tell that the juveniles were carrying toy weapons.
The teen's parents say Shalonda Mixon and Brewer were also aware of Nerf Wars, as one of the teens present for the Ayers Road shooting lives next door to the running back's sister and has played the game while she and Brewer were home.
"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 and it is unreasonable that Joe Mixon or anyone in Mixon’s home could have feared for their lives," the lawsuit reads.
The Bells are seeking punitive damages and attorney's fees, as well as compensation for expenses incurred as a result of the shooting.
Attorney information for Joe Mixon and Brewer was not available Friday afternoon.
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