Backup cornerback Lamar Robbins and offensive lineman Benjamin Knox were accused of firing gunshots outside a USF Tampa dormitory on Thursday.
Two football players accused of firing gunshots outside a campus dormitory early Sunday morning apparently did it in celebration of the team’s Homecoming victory over Syracuse, USF Police said Friday.
Backup cornerback Lamar Robbins was taken into custody Thursday afternoon after police identified him as a participant in the shooting along with redshirt freshman offensive lineman Benjamin Knox. Both are alleged to have fired several shots from a .45-caliber handgun shortly before 4 a.m. Sunday that struck the exterior of the Holly D residence hall, where Knox lives. No one was injured in the incident, but two sizeable holes were put into the side of the building.
Robbins, 22, is charged with discharging a weapon on school property and providing false information to a law-enforcement officer after lying to authorities about his involvement during the investigation, a second-degree felony and misdemeanor, respectively. The junior is currently being held on $15,500 bond in Hillsborough County Jail, according to a sheriff’s office report.
Knox, 21, was previously arrested on Sunday and faces felony charges possessing or discharging a firearm on campus and shooting into an occupied dwelling. He was released Monday on $32,500 bond, which was increased from $15,000 after surveillance footage identified him as one of the shooters.
During the initial investigation, police found an empty box of ammunition and an open gun case inside Knox’s car, which was parked adjacent to Holly D, inside the Crescent Hill parking garage. They later located Knox and the gun inside his dorm room.
Both players have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities. Police do not believe anyone else was involved.
“USF Athletics is aware that law enforcement’s investigation of an incident that occured early Sunday morning has led to the arrest of student-athlete Lamar Robbins,” the school said in a statement Friday morning. “Robbins has been immediately suspended from all team activities, as was the student-athlete previously implicated in this incident. They will remain so as we continue to gather more information through the property authorities.
“We cannot state strongly enough our commitment to the values of our institution and that any behavior inconsistent with those will not be tolerated.”
According to USF assistant police chief Chris Daniel, neither Knox nor Robbins have provided authorities with a motive for the shooting. But Daniel said evidence and witness statements point to the gunfire being “celebratory-based.”
“The gunshots were not aimed at each other or the result of some type of conflict,” Daniel said. “We can’t get the suspects to give us any information with regard to the intent behind it. We have to assume it’s just reckless discharge of a firearm on the university campus.”
Robbins was not immediately implicated, but became a person of interest after witnesses placed him in the area at the time of the shooting. Daniel said they have reason to believe that he and Knox shared the same firearm # a Glock .45 ACP handgun # after a search warrant served on Robbins’ vehicle and apartment turned up no other weapons.
On Tuesday, USF coach Willie Taggart said he talked to the team after the game about making smart decisions and sent out a follow-up text message to his players later that evening. The Bulls play Connecticut on Saturday at noon.
“It’s life. It’s things we deal with,” Taggart said. “You’ve got to make good decisions. There’s consequences to all of your actions that you make and we’ve got a lot of guys doing things right and we’re going to focus on those guys and focus on UConn and getting better.
“We’re going to let authorities take care of the matter and what they have to do, and we’ll go from there.”
Robbins, a Miami native, has four tackles this season and appeared in four of the Bulls’ five games. Knox, a former four-star recruit out of DeLand, played in all five.
