‘I’m ready to go:’ NFL’s Tank Dell lets team know he’s recovering after Florida shooting
Nearly a month after experiencing a shooting in his home state, Daytona Beach native and Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell is back after a speedy recovery.
The NFL star was posted running routes on social media weeks after suffering a gunshot wound, one of 10 victims in a Sanford, Florida mass shooting.
According to reports, Dell suffered a flesh wound as the bullet pierced the back of his leg and went through the front of his leg. A 16-year-old Daytona Beach boy was arrested in the aftermath of the shooting.
Who is Tank Dell?
Nathaniel Jasper "Tank" Dell Jr. was born in Daytona Beach. He played JV for two years at Mainland High School before making the varsity squad as a junior, then spent a semester at Alabama A&M before transferring to Independence Community College in Kansas and then the University of Houston in 2020. He was a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist, which goes to the most outstanding wide receiver in college football.
Before going to the Houston Texans in the third round of the 2023 draft, Dell led the nation with 1,398 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns and finished second in receptions (109). Prior to the draft, he ran a 40-yard time of 4.49 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, with a 1.49 10-yard split, and broad-jumped 10 feet, 1 inch.
Dell caught eight passes in Week 12 against the Arizona Cardinals for a career-high 149 yards and one touchdown but a fractured fibula ended his season the next week against the Denver Broncos.
How is Tank Dell doing nearly a month after the Cabana Live shooting?
Dell's trainer, Delfonte Diamond, posted clips of the athlete performing drills at the University of Houston indoor training facility
Fans commented their surprised reactions at seeing Dell already back on his feet, though many more shared their support. One commenter wrote that Dell "came back faster."
Dell was released from the hospital the following day after the shooting and sent back to Texas. In an interview with Houston's KPRC 2, Diamond said Dell is back to work and is doing well after the shooting.
“Oh man, Tank looked good,” Diamond said. “It’s the real deal. He ain’t lost a step. Even though that stuff happened, three is ready to go.”
Where is Cabana Live?
Cabana Live is a waterside bar located at 4380 Carraway Place in unincorporated Sanford, roughly 23 miles outside of downtown Orlando. It is found alongside the St. Johns River in Seminole County.
The entertainment venue is housed on a small inlet of the St. Johns River near the Lake Monroe Bridge with live sports coverage, music, dining, and a pool.
The evening event at Cabana Live during the incident was advertised as a "Nobody Leaves Sober" pool party with a $10 cover charge and was attended by about 200 people, according to a press conference from the Seminole County Sheriff's Department.
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What happened at Cabana Live in Sanford on April?
In the surveillance video shown at a April 30 press conference, it shows a physical fight breaks out around the pool. One person then pulls out a gun and opens fire toward the crowd. Another person can be seen returning fire as people scramble to get away.
Almost immediately, one of the security guards comes up behind the 16-year-old and grabs him in a bear hug, pinning him. Another grabbed his gun and ejected the remaining live round, Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma said.
Deputies who had been patrolling the area due to the large crowds heard shots fired inside around 12:30 a.m. Sunday but were initially unable to get inside due to the crush of people leaving, Lemma said. The owner helped them get in through a different door.
It was noted that were 10 armed security guards working the event, checking IDs and patting guests down for firearms, which were not allowed into the venue.
How many people were injured in the Sanford shooting in Cabana Live?
Ten people suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to officials. All were treated and have been released from the hospital in the weeks after the shooting.
The Seminole County Sheriff's Office confirmed Dell was injured at the party and pointed him out in the surveillance video. They said the event was not for Dell and the event marketing had no mention of him, but he had been invited.
"You can see the position that he's in, he's right in the middle of this firearm altercation," Lemma said.
Who were the shooters at Cabana Live?
A 16-year-old was arrested for the shooting inside Cabana Live and checked into a juvenile detention center following the incident. According to the sheriff's office, the teenager is charged with five counts of attempted second-degree murder while discharging a firearm and one count of possession of a firearm by a minor.
The 16-year-old boy was carrying a Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun, Lemma said, which had been legally purchased in Miami in 2018.
On May 13, it was declared he would be tried as an adult, with a circuit judge officially signing the transfer of his prosecution from juvenile to adult circuit court.
The second shooter has not been publicly identified yet. Lemma said the public was not in any danger, as it was "a self-defense situation from somebody who had a legal right to possess a firearm and finds themself in harm's way."
"We just don't know who that person is yet," Lemma said. The number of shell casings indicated the second shooter fired five times, although one seemed to be from an accidental discharge when the shooter pulled the weapon from a pocket.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Tank Dell, injured in Florida mass shooting, recovering from gunshot
