Otis Anderson, Sr. (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)
Recently released body camera footage has provided grisly new details into the death of a former football star in Florida, who authorities say was shot to death by his father following an argument in November 2021.
Otis Anderson, Sr., 53, is currently awaiting trial for the murder of his own son, Otis Anderson, Jr. He is also charged with one count of attempted murder for allegedly shooting his wife two times during the tragic attack. He has pleaded not guilty to both counts.
Anderson Jr., 23, played running back at the University of Central Florida where he rushed for 2,182 yards and 17 touchdowns, and caught 91 passes for a total of 1,025 yards and nine touchdowns from 2017 until 2020. Anderson Jr. was briefly picked up by the Los Angeles Rams in 2021 and played for the practice squad during training camp before he was cut from the team.
The footage of Anderson Sr.’s arrest was obtained by Jacksonville ABC/NBC affiliate WTLV and shows the immediate aftermath of the gruesome killing.
“I’m in my house. I’m getting attacked, and you don’t want to hear it? Okay. No one even asked me my side of the story,” the elder Anderson can be heard saying as he’s led away from the house in handcuffs by a deputy with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
At another point in the video, a deputy can be heard emphatically declaring, “There’s blood in every single room.”
The footage – which is redacted and blurred at certain points – also shows what appear to be trails of blood leading out of the house and covering the sidewalk towards the neighbor’s house, where Anderson Jr. and his mother sought help after the attack.
“Holy s—. That is a big ole blood spatter right there boy,” a deputy says, referring to a spot of red on the sidewalk. “This guy lost a lot of blood.”
According to an affidavit filed in the case, Anderson Jr.’s mother told police that the fight began when a dog belonging to the younger man’s girlfriend bit Anderson Sr., drawing blood. The two then got into a verbal altercation and she heard a “pow” sound, followed by her son saying, “You shot me.”
When the mother confronted her husband and started hitting him with a Swiffer mop, Anderson Sr. turned around and shot her twice, the document states.
“I said, ‘Are you f—— serious?’ So I had that Swiffer jet mop, and I started hitting him with it, and then he turned around, and he shot me,” Anderson Jr.’s mom can be heard saying on the body cam footage.
In subsequent interviews with police, Anderson Sr. claimed it was very out of character for his son to get physical with him, saying he believed his son was depressed due to his recent release from the Los Angeles Rams.
“I can’t recall the exact words, to be honest with you. It just it happened so fast,” he told police in footage released last year. “I call it ‘bowing up.’ I mean he got aggressive. He popped off, and I’m like, ‘Hey boy, you don’t hurt me, you don’t do that.’”
Anderson Sr. has a pretrial hearing at 9 a.m. on Feb. 22.
Watch the video below.
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