Former Abington football coach says stray bullet from police shooting range hit him during practice
In a federal lawsuit, Antwone Rodgers says the bullet, fired from a police department gun range nearby, struck him in his right arm.
A former football coach at Abington Senior High School has sued the township and some of its police officers, saying a stray bullet from the police department gun range struck him in the arm during a team practice.
Antwone Rodgers, 41, heard gunshots during practice on Aug. 7, 2023, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court in Philadelphia last week.
The range is not far from the high school field where the football team was practicing at the time, Rodgers’ attorney, Jeffrey B. Solomon, wrote in the lawsuit.
Michael P. Clarke, the solicitor for Abington Township, declined to comment on the suit.
During the team’s practice, Rodgers suddenly felt “an intense burning and pain in his right wrist and forearm,” and looked down to see a projectile on the ground near him, the suit said.
The bullet, which bounced off his arm and did not penetrate his body, was still warm to the touch, according to the lawsuit.
Rodgers notified the team’s head coach, who cleared the field and notified police. One of the officers who responded to the scene “verbally confirmed that the bullet was from the police shooting range,” the suit said.
Afterward, Rodgers was treated at a nearby urgent care, according to the suit, and had to return a week later for treatment of ongoing swelling in his arm.
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Weeks later, the suit said, Rodgers attended a football game between Abington and Cheltenham at which a teenage boy was arrested for carrying an illegal gun with an extended magazine. Rodgers had a panic attack and was sent to Holy Redeemer Hospital.
He was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and continues to require treatment, the suit said.