“Josh Reynolds was interested in an incident that was too serious… I’m pretty much like you when you gave me the initial details, [but] He’s lucky,” Payton said in Friday’s application. “I had a chance to talk to him, he was pretty shocked.”
Reynolds, who is currently on injured reserve after undergoing finger surgery earlier this month, was one of two men injured in a shooting in Denver early last Friday.
According to police documents, Reynolds and another man were located, after multiple calls to 911 reporting that two people had been shot, near South Quebec Street and East Union Avenue in Denver. Reynolds had been shot twice, one in the left arm and another in the back of the head.
Reynolds and the other man were treated and released from a Denver-area sanatorium hours closer to the shooting, in what police called “non-life-threatening accidents.”
Reynolds, who could not be reached for comment, has been available for personnel actions at this speed at the Broncos’ complex in Denver’s southern suburbs. The Broncos played the Saints at Unused Orleans on October 17, and Reynolds did not create the shuttle since he is currently on the injured book.
Payton stated Friday that once he told Reynolds, he made it clear that the Broncos have “so many resources available,” including counseling, while Reynolds recovers from his injuries.
“They travel to the games, all that,” Payton said.
Payton also said Friday that he had spoken to the remains of the team about the shooting.
Police said Reynolds and two other people had reported they were at Shotgun Willie’s, a strip club in Glendale, Colorado, and left at 2:45 a.m. Friday morning. Reynolds and one of the key men left the club in a van and the closest man told police they had been followed through some cars and sent away.
Reynolds and the other guy were abandoned from the SUV when it was no longer traveling on Interstate 25, the highway that divides Denver from north to south. The truck was the closest police found with some bullet holes.
The third member of Reynolds’ team, who was not traveling in the truck, was injured by broken glass but was not shot, according to the documents. Denver police announced they had arrested two men in connection with the shooting: Burr Charlesworth, 42, and Luis Mendoza, 35.
The two men are being held for investigation of attempted first-degree murder and first-degree assault. Police discovery investigators say Mendoza followed Reynolds and the two others out of the strip club when the gang left.
Reynolds, 29, signed a two-year, $9 million deal with the Broncos in distant company on this April day. He hasn’t played since breaking his finger on a 9-yard landing reception in the Broncos’ Year 5 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.
He has 12 receptions for 183 yards with one touchdown.
