According to police in Boulder, where Bannan starred at the University of Colorado, the shooting took place at a building he partly owns and which houses a business he co-founded. The woman, a 36-year-old acupuncturist who works for a different company located in the building, was taken to a hospital with what were said to be non-life-threatening injuries.
Bannan, a fifth-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2002 who also played for the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, St. Louis Rams and Detroit Lions over a 12-year NFL career, was found by police outside the building engaged in a conversation with another man. Per reports, police found two .45-caliber handguns inside a backpack belonging to Bannan, as well as a rolled-up $20 bill coated with a white substance that tested positive for cocaine.
Former NFL and University of Colorado Boulder lineman Justin Bannan appears in court at the Boulder County Jail on Thursday. Bannan is facing attempted murder and assault charges after police say he shot a woman in Boulder on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/taVaXxc92y
— Matthew Jonas (@photojmatthew) October 17, 2019
A spokesperson for the Boulder police said the shooting appeared to be “random.” The woman was said to have only been slightly acquainted with Bannan, by virtue of occasionally crossing paths with him at the building.
The woman reportedly said that as soon as she arrived at work Wednesday and unlocked a door to a therapy room, she was shot in the shoulder by Bannan, who was already in the room.
“What the [expletive], you just shot me,” she said she told Bannan, per an arrest affidavit, to which he replied, “I’m sorry, the Russian Mafia is after me.”
Bannan also told police that he was being pursued by the Russian Mafia, offering its ability to track him as an explanation for having gotten rid of his cell phone. He was said in the affidavit to be “sweating profusely” while speaking with police, claimed the shooting was an “accident” and to have declared of the woman, “She did not deserve that, she was a good person.”
In addition, Bannan was said to have claimed to police that he suffers from hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid builds within the brain and can cause pressure in the head. In some cases, hydrocephalus can also impair cognitive skills (per the AANS).
An attorney for Bannan asked for his client’s bail to be lowered, per reports, citing Bannan’s long involvement with the community and lack of a criminal record. The judge in the case declined, saying that the allegations in the affidavit raised “significant concerns about the safety of the community.”