Advertisement

Ex-Notre Dame lineman Louis Nix recovering after he was shot in chest during attempted robbery

Ryan Young
Staff writer
·3 min read

Former Notre Dame and NFL defensive lineman Louis Nix III is still in the hospital on Sunday night, five days after he was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery in Jacksonville, Florida.

Nix, 29, was rushed to the hospital late on Tuesday night after he was shot in the chest while at a gas station. He has a fractured sternum and a bullet lodged into his lung — which doctors are still trying to determine whether it is safe to remove.

“I’m feeling better,” Nix said Sunday, via the South Bend Tribune. “I’ve been doing breathing therapy. I just have to take my time, because I just don’t feel normal.

“I’m getting so much support from people, and I really appreciate it. It makes me feel stronger. I had hoped to be home from the hospital by now. I realize now it’s going to be a long road, but I’m up for it.”

Louis Nix shot in attempted robbery

Nix stopped at a gas station to fill up one of his tires with air on his way home from work on Tuesday night when he was confronted by two men. Nix said they walked up to him and shined a flashlight into his eye. After he shoved them back, Nix was shot in the chest.

Police are still investigating the incident.

“They were already there before I pulled up,” Nix said of the two attackers, via the Tribune. “There was a guy in the same area putting air in his tires as well.

“When I pulled up, the guys kind of scurried behind the little car wash. And after the other guy left, I pulled up. I had my doors open. I didn’t think anything was a threat. Boom, that’s when they came out.”

Nix was then transported to the hospital by ambulance and went on Instagram Live while he was en route.

“I just knew I couldn’t dial a number on my phone, so when I was in the ambulance, I put it on Instagram,” he said, via News4Jax.com. “I just wanted to relay that message so if I did go out, my family and the people I love would know I love them. That was the most important thing.”

Nix played for the Irish from 2011-13, and helped lead them to the national title game in 2013. He was selected in the third round of the 2014 NFL draft by the Houston Texans, though was sidelined repeatedly with knee injuries. He played just 22 snaps for the New York Giants in 2015, and was last in the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017.

Though he still has a long ways to go in his recovery, Nix is happy to be pushing forward.

“Right now, surgery is pending,” Nix said, via the Tribune. “They may leave the bullet inside of me. That’s kind of — ewww — I don’t know how that’ll go, but they say it’s a delicate situation as far as the bullet being in my lung.

“And then I’ve got a fractured sternum, too. My chest hurts. Breathing ain’t the best, but I’m alive. And I’m thankful to be alive.”

Former Notre Dame lineman Louis Nix
Louis Nix was shot in the chest on Tuesday night at a gas station in an attempted robbery. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

More from Yahoo Sports: