Florida police are looking to arrest former NFL wide receiver and Super Bowl champion Antonio Brown on an attempted murder charge.
The arrest warrant stems from a May 16 incident at a celebrity boxing event where Brown allegedly fired shots at another man. Videos of the fight that occurred before shots were fired have circulated on social media.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
Drafted in 2010, Brown spent most of his career with the Steelers, and won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady in Tampa Bay after the 2020 season. He appeared in seven games the next year before ending his NFL career in a bizarre scene where he ran off the field with his shirt off in New Jersey.
The off-the-field scandals piled up during the final years of his career including sexual assault and rape allegations that led to a league suspension, charges of burglary with battery, clashing with coaches and team leaders, and destruction of property.
According to the arrest warrant, Brown, 36, got into a fight with Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, who police say Brown hit first. Brown then took a gun from the right hip of security staffer Eric Bauer, police say, and ran toward Nantambu. He fired two shots, and Nantambu later told police one of the bullets possibly grazed his neck, “placing him in fear for his life.” He told police he had known Brown since 2022.
Social media video of the May incident shows Brown holding the firearm as he advances toward Nantambu; two shots are heard as Brown gets within feet of him. The incident occurred outside after social media influencer Adin Ross’ celebrity boxing event at a Miami warehouse.
Officers found Brown unarmed, the warrant says, and recovered two spent shell casings and an empty firearm holster from the scene. With no “identified victims at the time,” Brown was released, according to the warrant.
Despite the early police response, it took several weeks for charges to be filed against the unofficially retired NFL star. As of Friday afternoon, police have not publicly explained the delay in filing charges against Brown.
Brown’s arrest warrant lists a charge of attempted murder with a firearm. He is called to remain under house arrest pending trial, with a bond set at $10,000, the Post reported.
Following the incident, Brown posted on X on May 17 claiming he was the victim of an attack. “Regarding the boxing event that happened last night. I was jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me,” he posted. “Contrary to some video circulating, Police temporarily detained me until they received my side of the story and then released me. I WENT HOME THAT NIGHT AND WAS NOT ARRESTED.”
Brown is noted on the police warrant as 5’11”, though his listed height in the NFL was 5’10”.
A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office declined comment, saying the arrest warrant “speaks for itself.”
Police attempted to serve Brown an arrest warrant in late 2022 for a battery charge stemming from alleged domestic violence, and in late 2023 Brown was arrested in Florida following claims of unpaid child support.
