The Minnesota Vikings have released a statement addressing an incident involving defensive end Everson Griffen, who posted a frightening video overnight of him wielding a handgun inside his home, claiming people were trying to kill him.
“Vikings representatives and the team’s mental health professionals have been on-site at Everson Griffen’s home since early this morning and are cooperating with law enforcement/ Our only concern at this time is the safety and well-being of Everson and his family. We will have further comment at the appropriate time.”
Early Wednesday morning, Griffen took to Instagram to post text messages he sent to his agent Brian Murphy, asking for help, telling Murphy to call 911 and saying, “People are trying to kill me.” He also posted a since-deleted video of himself sitting in a room holding a gun that he claimed was registered to him and that teammate Dalvin Cook had helped him purchase.
Courtney Cronin, a Vikings reporter for ESPN, took to Twitter Wednesday morning to reveal that Minnesota head coach Mike Zimmer is aware of the ongoing situation.
“Zimmer said he was made aware of situation with Griffen around 2-3 AM,” she wrote. “Said he does not know whether Griffen is safe when asked. Vikings statement said that team reps/mental health professionals were on site at Griffen’s home this morning and are cooperating w/ law enforcement.”
According to a statement from the Minnetrista Police Department, Griffen had called police around 3 a.m. and said someone was inside his home and that he needed help. Griffen told the 911 dispatcher he had fired a weapon but that no one was hurt.
Police added that since 7 a.m. this morning law enforcement officials and team psychologists have been in ongoing communication with Griffen, but he has refused to come out of his home.
“At this time, law enforcement officers are confident Griffen is alone inside the home and continue to work with him to resolve the situation.”
It isn’t the first mental health situation involving Griffen. In September 2018, the defensive end was hospitalized for mental health treatment after an incident at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis in which he allegedly threatened to shoot members of the staff unless he was allowed into his room.
Later that month, Griffen took to Instagram to apologize to those affected by his actions. “I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from my family, the Vikings organization, my teammates and our tremendous fan base,” he wrote.
