As noted, the Orange County deputies are currently holding a press conference to address the shooting which took place outside the WWE Performance Center today, and below are some highlights:
-Police responded to a trespassing call at 1:30pm EST today at what they described as a “semi-professional NXT wrestling organization”.
-The man who was eventually shot had previously been banned from stepping foot on WWE property, and he was reportedly “obsessed” with one of the female talents working at the PC.
-The man was carrying a knife, and when two OCPD officers responded to the call, he charged at them with the knife. The officers retreated “75 to 100 feet backwards” before making the decision to fire a shot at the attacker. One shot was reportedly fired to take him down.
-The man is currently undergoing surgery at the hospital and the gun shot wound is said to be a “life threatening”.
-WWE employees are currently being questioned.
-OCPD cannot release the name of the man at this time, but he has a prior arrest record, with a history of robbery and battery against an officer.
-Corporal Steve Wall and Deputy Dave Richardson were the two officers at the scene, and Wall reportedly fired the shot which took the man down. It was said the two officers gave the man instructions and multiple warnings in attempt to subdue him before they decided to fire a shot.
–Triple H noted, and the OCPD corroborated, that the man had no affiliation with WWE and was not a wrestler.
-Wall and Richardson were asked why they didn’t take the man down with a taser. Wall said the incident happened very quickly and because there was a weapon involved, he made the decision he thought was most necessary.
-The female with whom the man was obsessed was reportedly not at the WWE Performance Center today.
-When asked if WWE does it best to keep its performers safe, the sheriff said yes. He said WWE always coordinates with local police, but a situation like this is unpredictable.
-The sheriff did watch security tape footage of the incident, and agreed the officers did their best to maintain distance from the man, but when he closed in on them they had to fire a shot at him take him down.
-One of the Performance Center managers apparently called one of the officers they have been coordinating extra security with, which is why they showed up for today’s incident. There was also a 911 call made.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
