Tank Dell

Tank Dell (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire).

Tank Dell caught unfriendly fire in Sanford, Florida, early Sunday morning. The mass shooting Dell was involved in was tragic for all 10 injured victims and the child perpetrator. The social commentary that could be said is deafening. 

The Sanford, FL Mass Shooting

Nathaniel “Tank” Dell was involved in a mass shooting in Florida (Getty Images).

Just after midnight on Sunday morning at a nightclub, a fist fight broke out. For an unclear reason (probably because he is 16), a child shot into the fistfight, shooting 10 individuals. Tank Dell was very much in the wrong place at the wrong time, as he was not involved with the fight. A security guard at the event wrestled the child to the ground and took his firearm away. 

The shooter is currently at a juvenile detention center, facing an entire slew of firearm-related charges. How was a child allowed into a nightclub sophisticated enough to have security guards anyway?

The Mass Shooting Aftermath

Tank Dell at draft night (Photo courtesy of AP News).

All of the victims were brought to nearby hospitals for care. None of the bullet wounds are life-threatening, and most are in the lower extremities of the victims. Thankfully, no one was physically hurt. The trauma can’t be quantified, though. 

Tank Dell only sustained a minor injury, thankfully. Later on Sunday, Dell was already released by the hospital. He wouldn’t have been discharged that quickly unless it was truly minor.

The Houston Texans released this statement on their X account: “We have been made aware that Tank Dell was a victim of a shooting in Sanford, Fla. last night. He sustained a minor wound but has been released from the hospital and he is in good spirits. We are in contact with him and his family and will provide more updates when appropriate but we ask that you please respect his privacy at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this incident.”

Hopefully, this does not affect Dell’s fractured fibula recovery that sidelined the latter half of his rookie schedule. 

Tank Dell’s Incident Shows An Alarming Trend

Brian Robinson (Photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports).

I will sound 100 years old when I say this, but it feels like in recent times we have had more NFL players fall victim to gun violence. We need to protect our players and young black men in society in general. 

Remember when Washington Commanders’ Brian Robinson was shot twice in the leg in Washington, D.C., during an attempted carjacking on a Sunday at 5:46 p.m.? Two teenage boys, 17 and 15, attempted to rob Robinson at gunpoint. For whatever reason, the children got scared after the firearm was discharged, and they fled the scene without taking anything. 

In June of 2023, Greg Newsome II and Perrion Winfrey, who were Cleveland Browns players at the time, were robbed at gunpoint. The two gentlemen were leaving a nightclub early Monday morning in Cleveland in the direction of their vehicle when six men in masks jumped out of a vehicle and robbed them. The men took jewelry and Newsome’s truck. Thankfully, no one was injured.

So, see what I mean? Does this kind of thing have to happen once a year? Can we keep children away from firearms and nightclubs? That sounds doable, doesn’t it? Good grief. 

Did you catch this article on the Houston Texans trade with the Buffalo Bills here? Make sure to catch more of my content here!