Vanderbilt Football Players' 'Ill-Conceived Plan' To Recover Stolen Cell Ends In Shooting: Police

NASHVILLE, TN — An effort to recover a Vanderbilt football player's stolen cell phone went awry Monday, ending with a shooting at a West Nashville Target, a stolen car and two Commodore football players hospitalized.

Investigators say that sophomore wide receiver Donoven Tennyson, freshman defensive back Tae Daley and redshirt freshman defensive back Frank Coppet hatched a plan to recover Tennyson's stolen cell phone and involved the use of a pellet pistol. Unfortunately, the group the trio met brought a real pistol and a shotgun. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Middle Tennessee Patch morning newsletter.)

Tennyson had listed his phone for sale online and met with what he thought was a prospective buyer in the parking lot of the West End Chili’s at 5 p.m. Monday. He told police his phone was stolen during the meeting.

Later that night, Tennyson said his phone had been offered for sale by the thief on the same site, so he created a fake account, requested to purchase the phone, arranging to meet the seller in the parking lot of the White Bridge Target.

Tennyson, Daley and Coppet rode to the Target in Daley's Toyota Corolla and they brought a pellet pistol with them, as one told investigators, “to help get the phone back.” They pulled up next to the seller’s gray Buick sedan. Coppet got out with the pellet pistol in his hand, but he was met by one of the men in the Buick, who shot at them with an actual pistol, while another man in the Buick fired a shotgun. Daley suffered a non-critical gunshot wound to his leg. Coppet received non-critical birdshot wounds to his arms. After the shots, the gunmen fled, one in the Buick, and one in Daley’s Corolla.

West Precinct detectives are now working to identify and arrest the individuals. The shooters are described as two young black men, one with short dreads.

Earlier, the police department described the football players' plan as "ill-conceived."

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