Travis Rudolph faces multiple charges after a deadly double shooting in Palm Beach County. NBC 6’s Kim Wynne reports
The former Florida State Seminoles football star and NFL player will remain behind bars after his Thursday court hearing on charges he opened fire on a group of people in Palm Beach County, killing one and sending another to an area hospital.
25-year-old Travis Rudolph was denied bond during the hearing and will remain in jail until his next court appearance. Rudolph told the judge he plans to hire a private attorney.
Rudolph was arrested and charged Wednesday for the early morning incident that took place in Lake Park, just north of West Palm Beach. He faces one count of first degree murder and three counts of attempted first degree murder.
A police affidavit reported by NBC affiliate WPTV-TV said one of the victims told police he had been in contact with Rudolph’s girlfriend, who said she had been in a fight with the football player.
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The man and three other people went to Rudolph’s home where he was "immediately combative and confrontational” according to the affidavit.
After physically fighting for several minutes, Rudolph allegedly went back inside his home and allegedly grabbed a firearm and ran behind the car before shooting at it.
One person at the scene was injured and later hospitalized. A passenger in the car was shot and killed while both the driver and another passenger were uninjured.
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Detectives said witnesses told them Rudolph was holding a rifle shortly after they reported hearing the gunshots. Rudolph refused to speak with detectives, according to the affidavit.
"What happens next is the case will be sent downtown and will be presented to a grand jury," Judge Charles Burton told Rudolph before adding he cannot have any contact with any of the victims' families and can't have any weapons.
Rudolph was a high school star in West Palm Beach before signing with the Seminoles, where he played for three seasons and finished his career with 18 touchdown receptions and helped lead FSU to an Orange Bowl victory to end the 2016 season.
Rudolph was Florida State's leading receiver in 2015 and 2016 and left the team early to enter the NFL draft in 2017. He went undrafted but eventually signed with the New York Giants and then the Miami Dolphins. He also spent time with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. The team released him Wednesday.
Rudolph gained national attention in 2016 when a video of him eating lunch with an autistic student during a team visit at a Tallahassee middle school went viral. Rudolph's father died a year later after a gun accidentally discharged at a West Palm Beach strip club.
