A man was in critical condition and three others are recovering after a shootout involving a family in Alabama with ties to Falcons star receiver Julio Jones.
Baldwin County (Ala.) Sheriff Hoss Mack said in a news conference Monday that four people shot in a weekend incident at a trailer park are relatives of Jones, AL.com reported. They are either nephews or cousins of the NFL player, Mack said.
“It is my understanding there is some relation to him just from various family members,” he said.
Two brothers and their cousin — identified by authorities as Jermain Dickerson, Tamarius Dickerson and Royald Jones — went to the Magnolia Springs home of Jahlen Baker on Sunday afternoon. The three allegedly confronted Baker, who is a half-brother of Jermain and Tamarius Dickerson, at gunpoint.
According to AL.com, Baker, 19, was shot in the abdomen, and his roommate returned fire. The Dickerson brothers and Jones showed up at a local hospital, while Baker was found by deputies responding to the scene.
The sheriff said Monday that deputies are still investigating the involvement of the roommate, an unidentified man, and another woman staying at the mobile home. They found at least 30 rounds near the front door of the home, on the porch and in the front yard, the sheriff said.
Three weapons, two pistols and a rifle, and marijuana were also found inside the home, and more marijuana was found inside a Ford Explorer investigators think was used by the Dickersons and Jones.
Baker was still in critical condition Monday, the news site reported. Jermain Dickerson, 22, had been released from a hospital in Foley, Ala. Tamarius Dickerson, 23, and Jones, 20, were being treated at a hospital in Mobile, and they were believed to be stable.
The motive behind the shooting is unclear. No arrests had been made Monday.
Because the four are related, Mack said investigators are looking for “a past issue, something that occurred in the past few days.”
Jones left Atlanta right after Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys for what was described as “a family emergency.”
Before practice Tuesday, Jones quickly addressed the situation, calling it a "family matter. This is football. That's private."
He added, “I never left stuff off the field affect me on the field. I’ve been doing it for so long. Family issues and things like that, my family is good. Everybody is good. I can come out here and play. Do what I need to do and take care of business.”
The Falcons will visit the New Orleans Saints on Thanksgiving night.
This is not the first time relatives of the Falcons star, who grew up in Baldwin County and played for Foley High School, have been victims of crime. In 2014, Jones’ 31-year-old brother, Phillip, was shot in the arm in Gulf Shores.
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