UPDATED 8/5, 10:30 a.m. ET: TMZ is reporting that no NFL players were actually present at the party. The site says law enforcement believes the gathering “was a gang-related bash for the 8-Tray Gangster Crips, and they say they don't have any evidence to support an NFL player being there.” That may have merely been “a cover story if any trouble happened.”
See original story below.
A mansion party in Los Angeles—allegedly thrown in honor of an NFL player who got drafted to a team—erupted in gunfire on early Tuesday morning, around 12:47 a.m.
The shooting left two people injured and one dead, CBS Los Angeles reports. In an Instagram video from the party, around 20 gunshots can be heard in the background. There appeared to be two rounds of gunfire; chaos broke out after the second series of shots, as people began scrambling for safety.
All three victims were taken to the hospital, where one died and two were in critical but stable condition. A man in his 30s and a woman in her 40s were two of the victims. A fourth person sustained an injury while trying to flee the scene.
It’s unclear what led to the shooting and if any suspects have been identified or apprehended. News cameras recorded an altercation outside the residence after the shooting.
Kennie D. Leggett, who told CBS LA that he was the head of security for the party, claimed that the gathering was to celebrate a football player who was drafted to an NFL team, though Leggett didn’t reveal the player or team’s names.
“We have money,” Leggett said. “We are people. This, COVID I mean, is just pushing us out everywhere, and we have nothing, so the only thing we do have is Airbnbs to rent, swimming pools for our kids, to do big things and things of that nature.”
Neighbors in the area began calling police about the party on Monday night, concerned with the size of the crowd. Buses were dropping dozens of people off at the mansion, and officers discovered 200 people at the property when they first visited the home at about 6:30 p.m. on Monday.
The company that oversees the rental property told CBS LA it hadn’t been notified of the festivities. The company warned the renters that the party breached their rental agreement and asked them to leave the premises. Large gatherings are restricted in L.A. county as the number of COVID-19 cases in the area surges. People at the party were reportedly seen not wearing face masks or practicing social distancing.
Even with the health guidelines, the LAPD needed a warrant to enter the residence and break up the party. Police remained in the area for traffic and noise control. Leggett said he and his team were instructed to stay until 3 a.m., when the party was supposed to end.
