Texans WR Tank Dell breaks silence on shooting incident in Sanford bar - "That sh*t popped off out of nowhere"
Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell was involved in a shooting at Cabana Live restaurant/bar in Sanford, Florida on April 28, earlier this year. Dell was one of the 10 people wounded in the shooting incident.
On Sunday, Dell appeared on "The Million Dollaz Worth of Game," where he discussed in detail the shooting accident. The Texans WR explained that it was a "wrong place wrong time" situation.
"To me, it was just wrong place wrong time," Dell said. "I went back to see my mom. I wasn't even planning to go... But my boy, he hit me up. He was like, pull up to the party. They told me there's gonna be security check, people getting checked at the door, stuff like that. So I'm like 'alright cool.'"
Dell further explained:
"And then that sh*t just popped off out of nowhere, like it just went south out of nowhere... When you see on the video when I ran across, I thought I removed myself from the situation or the altercation when he was fighting. But I put myself in the middle of like two people. It just went crazy."
The shooting began when an argument escalated and turned into a brawl. A 16-year-old drew a gun and started shooting before the security team at the bar controlled the situation. The police arrested the teenager.
Tank Dell was admitted to the hospital. The Houston Texans later posted that the WR was discharged the next day.
Texans QB C. J. Stroud broke down in tears after Tank Dell's shooting incident
C. J. Stroud and Tank Dell have built a solid on-field and off-field relationship. The Houston Texans struck gold with their 69th pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. The QB-WR duo had some great moments last season.
Stroud was in Philadelphia watching the 76ers-Knicks game, when Dell was shot. When the Texans QB heard the news, he dropped his phone and broke down. [from 4:58]
"I get a text you and it was from our PR guy," Stroud recalled the moment. "He was like, 'I just want to let you know, like, what happened last night.' He sent like a whole long paragraph."
"But all I read was Tank a shot and I dropped my phone. And I started tearing up, man... first thing I could do was just, I just said a prayer."
Dell had a sensational rookie season before breaking his foot in Week 12 against the Denver Broncos. He had 47 receptions, 709 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in the 2023 season. Coming off an injury in 2024, Dell will look to continue from where he left off.