Non-fatal shooting of Eastern Washington football players results in attempted murder charges
Two months after a pair of Eastern Washington football players were shot in Spokane, Wa., police arrested two suspects on counts of attempted first degree murder.
According to reporting by a local CBS station, Spokane police took 26-year-old Avery Francis and 27-year-old Anthony Carell, who also face two counts of drive by shooting, into custody on Thursday night. The duo's bonds are each set at $500,000.
The incident occurred on July 13, when police responded to a shooting in a crowded downtown area after 1 a.m. and found Eastern Washington’s Dehonta Hayes and Keith Moore injured at the scene. They were taken to the hospital with "serious" but non-fatal injuries, and are expected to make a full recovery.
"We go out of our way, especially in that specific area, to have extra police presence on the weekends and at other times," Sgt. Terry Preuninger said, via KXLY.com. "We put extra officers down there because we have more people and so there is more of a likelihood of something possibly going wrong."
According to court documents, Moore told police that he and Hayes had broken up a fight between Carrell, Francis and other people earlier in the night. The suspects left the scene in an SUV before the shooting took place.
Both Hayes and Moore are listed as starters on the Eagles’ preseason depth chart. Hayes, a senior safety, finished third on the team last season with 87 tackles, while Moore, a junior defensive tackle, finished fourth on the team with six tackles for loss.
Preuniger revealed more information about the subjects in a press release Friday. Among other arrests, Francis had previously been convicted of second-degree robbery, witness tampering and second-degree assault. Likewise, Carell, a registered sex offender, faced felony convictions for second-degree assault and unlawful imprisonment.
Eastern Washington’s season will kick off on Aug. 31 with a road game against the Washington Huskies. Their first home game is a week later against Lindenwood University.
More from Yahoo Sports:
