A former Atlanta Falcons player was arrested this week on a number of crimes.
Former Atlanta Falcons Safety William Moore was behind bars on several charges stemming from the shooting in the parking lot at a popular park in Lawrenceville.
Moore is denying it at all as he admitted to shooting at a woman’s car that had kids in it, but he is claiming to be the victim in all of this.
A woman who spoke to 11 Alive stated she took her son and niece to the park for a birthday party. The kids, who are both under 10 years old, were playing around and near the playground. She then noticed her niece was playing with a little girl and thought maybe the two knew each other.
“I saw them playing, throwing the wood chips at each other,” the woman explained. She added, “Not long after that I see them kind of playing tag like slapping each other, not in the face but like on the arms, I noticed the little girl left.”
The woman said she didn’t think much of it.
“Moment later I hear a guy come out of nowhere, and say ‘Yo, get your (explicative) parents’ so I’m looking around,” she said.
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She realized the man was talking to her as she stated he told her “Tell your (explicative) niece to keep her hands to herself, she hit my daughter.” The woman claimed she just thought the kids were playing.
She said she tried her best to calm the situation, but it only got worse as she informed the man she was calling 911.
“He said, I don’t give an (explicative) about the police, I don’t care, I’ll be out of jail by the time you get home this evening,” she explained.
The woman said the dispatcher told her to get inside her vehicle and stay on the line. As she walked to the car, she notice the man following her. After the woman, her son, and niece got to their car, she said the man blocked them from leaving the parking lot.
Then another woman showed up and was circling her vehicle, at times beating on the windows.
“Then I see the girl poking holes in my tires, trying to flatten my tire,” the woman explained
The victim said she knew she couldn’t get out but was going to try and back out to see if they’d move. She said at that moment, she put the car in reverse and then felt a bump. That is when she noticed she hit the man’s car.
“As soon as I hit his car I heard the shot,” she explained.
The man was identified as former Falcons player William Keyton Moore.
On Friday, Moore’s attorney said in a statement to TMZ Sports the former football player only fired his gun because he was concerned the woman was trying to ram her car into his and cause injury to him or his family.
“William took his two young children and his dog to the park to play,” Matthew D. Crosby said. “After watching an older and larger female child assault his daughter, he attempted to speak to the lady that was with the girl to address the child’s behavior.”
“William parked his car, got out, and approached her driver’s side window to talk. She responded by putting her car in reverse and slamming it into William’s car right where his young son was sitting.”
Crosby continued, “It was not until she pulled forward and was preparing to crash into his car again that he produced his gun. William was terrified that his children would be seriously hurt or killed if he did not act immediately. So, he shot at her car’s tire and away from the occupants, attempting to disable her vehicle and prevent further deadly threats to his children.”
Crosby went on to say that Moore “adamantly denies the charges and looks forward to his day in court to give his side of the story.”
Moore is facing the following charges: two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of child cruelty, criminal damage to property, and possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a crime.
Moore played college football at the University of Missouri before being chosen by the Falcons in the second round of the 2009 NFL Draft.
He played for the Falcons until 2016. He had two years left on his contract at the time of his release. During his time with the Falcons, Moore was a Pro Bowl selection in 2012 and was also named second-team All-Pro in the same year.
