Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell spoke publicly for the first time about the night he was shot in April, saying it was a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Dell made his comments on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast, where he appeared with teammate CJ Stroud, in an episode that was released this week.
Dell was injured at a private event in Sanford, Florida, on April 28, where 10 people were injured after gunfire. Dell suffered a minor injury and has since returned to practicing at the Texans’ OTAs.
“First of all, I feel blessed. For me, it was the wrong place and the wrong time,” Dell, of Daytona Beach, Florida, said on the podcast. “I went back to see my mom, I wasn’t even planning on going to the little pool party or whatever, but my kids saw I was home, so they called me and said, ‘take me to the party.’ They said there would be security, they’d check people at the door, stuff like that, so I was like, ‘Okay, cool.’ It’s a good vibe and there were a lot of people I know there, so it was cool.
“And then that shit came out of nowhere. It just went south out of nowhere.”
Tank Dell has already returned to practice with the Texans after suffering a minor injury when shots were fired at an event he attended on April 28. Leslie Plaza Johnson/Icon Sportswire
Police have released video showing Dell caught in the middle of the altercation as shots were fired. A 16-year-old suspect was charged with attempted murder, discharge of a weapon in a public place, use of a firearm during a felony and unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor.
“…I thought I got myself out of the situation. As you see in the video, when I crossed paths I thought I got myself out of the small situation of the altercation when they were fighting, but I put myself in the middle of two.” people, and he just went crazy.”
Stroud said he was attending a playoff game between the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers when he received word from the Texans that Dell had been shot, calling the situation an “eye-opener.”
“All I read was ‘The tank got shot’ and I just dropped my phone and started crying. You know, when you hear that, you start thinking the worst,” she said on the podcast.
He said that “it was a good moment to realize that I can’t come home and do the same things I was doing too.”
“Because I ever go home, that’s where I feel comfortable, going to pool parties, bowling alleys, like skating rinks, house parties, like, these are the people I grew up with.” “I’m not a change because I have a little money,” he said. “But for that moment to happen so quickly, it was like an eye-opening experience, not only for Tank but for the rest of the world and athletes around the world.”
Dell’s rookie season ended in early December when he suffered a broken leg in a game against the Denver Broncos. He had 709 receiving yards at the time of his injury and was on pace for 1,205 yards.
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.