An NFL star is being sued for $1 million over a parking lot shooting where a victim claims he was shot at while sitting inside a Mercedes-Benz.
Christian Nshimiyimana was sitting inside the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon at a car dealership on Dec. 6 in Carrollton, Texas. Neither he nor anyone else was hit by bullets fired from a Lamborghini Urus driving past One Legacy Motors. He claims that Tennessee Titans cornerback L’Jarius Sneed or his personal assistant shot at him.
Much of what happened is redacted in the police report obtained by The Associated Press.
Attorney Levi McCathern said in a statement Friday that Sneed and his accomplice were arrested by the Carrollton Police Department for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after the shooting but have yet to answer for it. McCathern also accused Sneed and a woman who identified herself as Sneed’s mother of calling and threatening Nshimiyimana afterward, wanting him to not cooperate with police or retain an attorney.
“The proof is there,” McCathern said. “There is video surveillance from the dealership showing the car and the person who opened fire on Christian. We want to know why this happened. We’re thankful no one was shot, but we continue to search for the reason behind this incident.”
Neither agents for Sneed nor the Tennessee Titans immediately responded to the AP’s emails and messages for comment.
Nshimiyimana filed a civil lawsuit Feb. 20 in Dallas County, Texas, suing Sneed and a defendant listed as “John Doe” for “an unprovoked attack in cold blood and broad daylight.” Nshimiyimana, 23, owns an exotic car rental business and was researching vehicles for his company. The lawsuit includes a still photo from surveillance video showing an arm reaching out of a sport-utility vehicle on the street with what the lawsuit describes as a pistol circled in red.
According to the lawsuit, Nshimiyimana remembers seeing Sneed and his assistant at the car dealership but didn’t recognize Sneed from his NFL career or television. Nshimiyimana also does not recall ever meeting Sneed before that day. The lawsuit notes the defendants may have mistaken Nshimiyimana for someone else.
“Regardless, the unprovoked aggravated assault of my client with a deadly weapon is part of a pattern of behavior for Mr. Sneed, and he must be held responsible for his actions so they do not happen again,” McCathern said.
The Titans traded for Sneed last March and made him one of the NFL’s highest-paid cornerbacks with a new contract. Sneed played the first five games before a quadriceps injury eventually landed him on injured reserve. Sneed was a fourth-round draft pick out of Louisiana Tech in 2020 by Kansas City winning back-to-back Super Bowls with the Chiefs in 2022 and 2023.
McCathern said they got no response when they previously reached out to the Titans.
“It is clear that the Titans manage their players off the field just as they do on the field. No wonder they were the worst team in the NFL last year,” McCathern said of the team that holds the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft on April 24.
