Vandy player shot in leg, another w/ minor wound in shooting over stolen phone

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/879758237280677888

Metro police say a double shooting that took place in a parking lot outside a Nashville Target Monday night involved two groups of people and an ill-conceived plan to recover a Vanderbilt University football player's stolen cell phone.

The shooting, which took place at the store at 26 White Bridge Road, was directly related to an arranged meeting between the groups, according to police spokesman Don Aaron. Both groups brought weapons, he said, although one side had only a pellet pistol.

According to a preliminary investigation, 19-year-old wide receiver Donaven Tennyson had offered his cellphone for sale on an internet site and met with a prospective buyer in the parking lot of Chili's restaurant on West End Avenue at 5 p.m. Monday. 

Tennyson, a sophomore, told police his phone was stolen during the meeting.

Later in the evening, Tennyson noticed that his phone had been offered for sale by the thief on the same internet site. Police say Tennyson created a fake account on the site, requested to purchase the phone, and arranged to meet with the seller in the Target parking lot.

Tennyson then went to the parking lot with friends and fellow teammates O'montae (Tae) Daley and Frank Coppet, both 18, in Daley's red Toyota Corolla.

According to police, they brought a pellet pistol with them, as one put it, "to help get the phone back."

The group pulled up next to the seller's gray Buick sedan and Coppet got out with the pellet pistol in his hand.

A man in the Buick then got out and shot at them with a real pistol, while police say another man in the Buick fired a shotgun.

Daley suffered a gunshot wound to his leg. Coppet received non-critical birdshot wounds to his arms. After the shots, the gunmen fled, one in the Buick, and one in Daley's Toyota Corolla.

A Vanderbilt athletic spokesman was not immediately available for comment nor will they be.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/879779194485526528

[jbcarol]

 Jesse Johnson‏ @JWJohnsonVU247 9m9 minutes ago

No matter what comes of this incident for Tennyson, Coppet & Daley, I just hope for their own sake they learn from this.

Guys, you could've easily died over a cellphone. You put pride around a electronic device youll likely replace in a year....really?

[jbcarol]

Two Vanderbilt football players suffered non-life-threatening injuries Monday night following an incident in which a teammate tried to retrieve his stolen cell phone

Freshman defensive backs Tae Daley and Frank Coppet were shot outside a Nashville Target store. Daley was shot in the leg by a pistol, while Coppet was hit in the arm by a shotgun.

Tennyson saw action as a freshman in eight games last season, carrying the ball four times for 28 yards. Coppet redshirted last fall, while Daley enrolled this past spring.

[tophawg19]

never take a pellet gun to a possible gun fight. just the sight of it can escalate things quickly. should have let the law handle it. not to smart for a Vandy educated group

[thebignasty]

Would think playing football at vandy especially prepares you for showing up to a gun fight with a pellet gun.

[jbcarol]

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/880214793378037761

Vanderbilt football coach Derek Mason has indefinitely suspended three players who were involved in Monday night's shooting at a Target store in Nashville, which occurred when they tried to recover one of the player's stolen cell phone.

Sophomore wide receiver Donaven Tennyson, redshirt freshman cornerback Frank Coppet and freshman safety Tae Daley have been suspended from all football activities, according to a statement from Vanderbilt University on Wednesday.

The team is currently in summer workouts, and its preseason practice begins in the first week of August.

Daley was shot in the leg and and Coppet suffered birdshot wounds to his arms in the shooting, which happened shortly before 9 p.m. Monday at the Target store on White Bridge Pike. No charges have been filed against the players.

Tennyson, who is from Richmond, Va., was among six true freshmen to play for Vanderbilt last season, and he was on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.