An incident involving gunfire had occurred on the property of running back Joe Mixon. Now it is certain: There will be no investigation against the star of the Cincinnati Bengals

Running back Joe Mixon does not have to fear any consequences after the incident with shots on his property about a week ago.

According to the prosecutor’s office, the 26-year-old was not guilty of any wrongdoing. Instead, it seems that a questionable game among youths got out of hand.

What happened? Hamilton County, Ohio, police officers had been called to the running back’s home on 6 March. A 911 call had been made earlier for “shots fired”.

No arrests were made after officers arrived, however, a juvenile had to be taken to hospital with minor injuries. The shots in question were said to have been fired from the Bengals pro’s home, it was initially reported.

State’s attorney: no crime by Mixon

However, the prosecution concluded that Mixon was carrying a gun but had not fired it. “He did not commit a crime,” prosecutor Melissa Powers stated.

Meanwhile, Mixon’s agent Peter Schaffer released more details about the incident. A few weeks before the incident, Mixon’s address had been published on the internet. As a result, the running back had become a “victim of threats of physical violence”.

On that 6 March, Mixon returned to his home from a family visit in California, his sister, her five children, a male companion and Mixon’s physiotherapist were present.

Hamilton County prosecutor at a press conference regarding Bengals RB Joe Mixon. No charges filed. https://t.co/z8PAr7sX10

– Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 16, 2023

“On the evening of the incident, several vehicles gathered in front of Joe’s house and blocked the road. It was already dark outside. Joe and his physiotherapist saw several people carrying what appeared to be weapons exit the vehicles and run onto the neighbouring property,” the statement from the Mixon site said.

The scene, coupled with the threats of weeks before, had made Mixon and his physiotherapist feel threatened. They also feared for the safety of the children in the house. Mixon subsequently informed the Bengals’ head of security and asked for the police. At the same time, his physiotherapist called 911 from another room, and the children were sent to the basement.

Questionable trend among youths

“Joe ran outside to see what was going on. He didn’t want to confront anyone, which he didn’t. Nor did he want to threaten anyone, which he also didn’t do. And he didn’t want to shoot anyone, which also didn’t happen,” Schaffer clarified.

Mixon, he said, then saw a person with what he thought was a gun distributing instructions to the others. “When another person loaded the gun, Joe intervened and prevented the other person from loading his gun as well,” it said. In the process, it said, the person was injured, which Mixon regrets.

It has since emerged that the youths were apparently playing a paramilitary game in which other people’s property is used as a playing field and plastic weapons are used that look deceptively similar to real weapons. This questionable pastime was well known to local authorities and schools, it was said.