Florida football star with ties to Baton Rouge is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds. Police say the shooting happened early Friday morning on Wyandotte Street in Baton Rouge. Family members say Johnell Neal came home to Baton Rouge to celebrate his recent graduation from the University of Central Florida. The family planned to have a party for him Saturday, but now, it appears Johnell will be spending Mother's Day weekend in the hospital recovering.Before #31 became a standout player at the University of Central Florida, Neal wore #26 playing for Redemptorist High School in Baton Rouge. The now 22-year-old college graduate recently earned his degree from UCF in criminal justice. His family is searching for justice of their own after someone shot Neal several times in the arm and chest with an assault rifle. It happened in front of his family home on Wyandotte Street around 2:30 Friday morning.
L'Jean McKneely with the Baton Rouge Police Department says, "Suspects were apparently hiding beside the house and waiting for the right opportunity to shoot him while he was standing in front of the house." Police say the shooters may not have been looking for Johnell in particular but simply someone who shares his well known last name. They believe a dispute between Neal's cousin and some guys around town might have caused the shooting this morning.
"We know Johnell has no connection to whatever feud happened in the past, but the guys involved apparently were targeting the Neal family. So, he was down here for Mother's Day and this happens to him," says McKneely. Johnell is the nephew of famous Baton Rouge jazz singer Jackie Neal, who was gunned down several years ago. Neal is scheduled to return to Orlando this summer to start working on his second bachelor's degree and he planned to use his last year of football eligibility. His family is hopeful that he will be able to do that. Neal's injuries are not life-threatening.
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