UGA football player accused of shooting strangers with gel pellets, campus police say
A University of Georgia football player is facing battery charges after shooting a gel pellet gun at a group of strangers, injuring two, according to campus police.
Warren Brinson, a 6-foot-5-inch, 305-pound defensive tackle for the Georgia Bulldogs, turned himself in to the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office on April 7 after a warrant was issued for his arrest, the Athens Banner-Herald reported. The 20-year-old was wanted on two counts of misdemeanor battery and three counts of reckless conduct.
The alleged incident bears comparison to the viral “Orbeez” challenge made popular on TikTok, media reports say.
Three UGA students said they were walking near McWhorter Hall on April 6 when someone drove past and shot them with what they believed to be a BB gun, according to a police report obtained by McClatchy News. One of the students was hit on the left side of her rib cage while the other was struck near her sternum.
The third student wasn’t injured, police said.
Officers also said they found a BB near where the incident was reported. Using video surveillance, they obtained a physical description of the car in question and traced Brinson to his apartment about two hours later, the report reads.
The college junior, who played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, acknowledged shooting a gel pellet gun at the victims after mistaking them for someone he knew, according to police. Officers determined there was probable cause to pursue criminal charges against the football player.
The Orbeez challenge has surged in popularity on TikTok and typically involves “surprising” someone by shooting them with the water-based gel beads, McClatchy News reported. The toy guns use “orb-like projectiles as ammo” and can lead serious to injury.
Two kids in Vernal, Utah, were charged after participating in the challenge earlier this year, and police in several states, including Georgia, have warned about the dangers of it.
It’s not clear if Brinson was taking part in the Orbeez challenge. However, police said gel pellet ammo, “which are the type that are intended to be soaked in water to make them swell in size ... was turned over to investigators.”
He was arrested and later released after posting bonds totaling $3,000, the Athens-Banner Herald reported, citing jail records.
Brinson played in 12 of 15 games last season and finished with nine stops and one quarterback sack, according to his player profile. Georgia defeated Alabama in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 2:35 PM with the headline "UGA football player accused of shooting strangers with gel pellets, campus police say."