Report: December shooting stemmed from argument between two Florida State teammates
A disagreement between two Florida State football players led to gunshots in a December 22 incident that came to light on Friday in a report from The Tallahassee Democrat.
The Democrat is reporting that Tarron Addison, 20, is in Leon County jail on an attempted murder charge after an argument between Seminoles running back Mario Pender and offensive lineman Ira Denson.
Various witness statements and court documents state that Addison, an acquaintance of Denson, fired multiple shots at Tim Pruitt, the half-brother of Pender, in a parking lot of a Tallahassee apartment complex. Pruitt was hit in the head and was sent to the hospital, leading to the attempted murder charge.
According to the report, the violent incident stemmed from a disagreement between Pender and Denson that started after Denson allegedly used Pender’s missing debit card on December 20. Two days later, on December 22, Pender told police he went to Denson’s apartment before the incident to get his money back, but Denson was not at the apartment. Pender decided to take a pair of shoes from Denson as “collateral” after failing to pay him back.
Later in the day, Denson and Pender agreed to meet to exchange the money and shoes. Addison accompanied Denson and, allegedly to avoid confrontation, Pender told Pruitt to give Denson the shoes. Pruitt then reportedly went downstairs to make the exchange when Pender heard “a loud argument.”
Denson told police he left his apartment and went onto the balcony to see what was happening. After Pruitt put the shoes in the trunk of the car Denson was sitting in, Pender says he saw Addison point a gun from the driver’s side window and fire at Pruitt as the car pulled away. Pruitt was shot in the left ear, according to court documents.
Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher said Thursday that Denson, a redshirt freshman, is not currently practicing with the team but is still enrolled at the school. Fisher did not allude to the incident and mentioned that Denson needs to focus on academics.
“We’re going to evaluate how he does,” Fisher said. “He’s got to continue to do well, we want him to do well academically. If he does, he does. If he doesn’t, we’ll have to adjust.”
Fisher was complimentary of Pender on Thursday and lauded his “work in the classroom and improving maturity.”
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