A former UT football player may have accidentally been shot in the leg by a teammate but no charges were ever filed, according to an investigative report released by KPD after the case was closed.
On March 7, 2020, Brandon Davis, a sophomore defensive back from New Orleans, was in the Uptown Bar & Grill on Cumberland Avenue when he was shot in the leg.
Davis told authorities at the time that he didn't know who shot him. According to a police report, the wound was "grazing" and didn't appear to be too serious.
Davis was with several other people, including other football players, but all of them initially denied knowing who shot Davis, according to the report.
There was some speculation in the bar that night that Davis had shot himself, the report says.
As the investigators followed up on the shooting, they were told by Davis' girlfriend that another football player was the one who shot Davis and that everyone believed it was an accident.
Davis and his girlfriend told officers that the teammate was the one who shot him and that he had tried to apologize, according to the report.
"Davis stated he did not want to prosecute. He just wanted it to be known that he did not shoot himself since that was speculated," the report says.
The officer was unable to speak to the accused player for several months because UT shut down the next day because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the students all returned home. When the officer finally spoke with the player in August, he denied having a gun in the bar that night and shooting Davis.
The case was closed because Davis did not want to prosecute and no other witnesses were willing to come forward, according to the report.
Davis has since transferred from UT. The other player is still on the roster. WBIR will not name him because no charges have been filed against him.
Original story: March 10, 2020
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee defensive back Brandon Davis is recovering after being shot in the leg in an incident being investigated by Knoxville police.
An incident report says someone alerted a Knoxville police officer at 12:32 a.m. Saturday that Davis had been shot.
The 20-year-old sophomore from New Orleans was being helped by several people and had an apparent gunshot wound in his left upper leg.
Davis told the officer he was inside a bar when he heard a shot and felt pain in his leg. Davis also said he didn't know who shot him or why.
