According to MyFoxBoston.com, the unnamed witness who was wounded in the incident, said in reference to Hernandez: "When I see his face, I just recognize his face. Compare his face that night to his face now. It's that face that I remember."
The former Patriots tight end is charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd in last June. The 2012 shooting, which took place in Boston’s theater district, is currently under investigation by police.
Danny Abreu and Safiro Furtado were seated in the front seat of car when a group of men opened fire around 2 a.m. on Shawmut Avenue. The witness told MyFoxBoston he heard someone shout, "What up, Negroes?" right before the shooting began.
"Things happened so fast. I was trying to defend myself," the witness is quoted as saying. "They were shooting everywhere inside the car, front to back. They just came to kill. That's it.”
The witness told the TV station he recognized Hernandez's face after his arrest for the Lloyd murder.
SANDERS FIRED, REHIRED BY SCHOOL
A few hours after Prime Prep Academy released a statement indicating it was firing co-founder Deion Sanders, the NFL Network analyst was rehired by the Texas-based charter school.
WFAA in Dallas reported that Sanders would coach Prime Prep’s football team on Friday night.
Sanders co-founded the Fort Worth-based charter school and has served as the head football coach and part-time school operator. On Wednesday, The Dallas Morning News reported that Sanders got into a physical altercation with school administrator Kevin Jefferson over Sanders' displeasure with the way the school was being managed.
“He walked back to the back of the classroom to where I was sitting in a desk,” Jefferson told the Morning News' Tanya Eiserer. “As he got closer to me, I stood up because he was kind of standing over me and he just kind of kept talking to me and at me and then he just grabbed me by my throat and kind of threw me to the ground. Some people had to get him off of me.”
Sanders told WFAA-8 in Dallas that while he confronted Jefferson, there was not a physical attack.
“He was not beat up. He was not hit. He was none of that,” Sanders said. “Mr. Jefferson and I got into a confrontation about the welfare of these kids. And we’ll get into another one. Until you start taking care of these kids, I’m going to be on a rampage. Until we start serving these kids in Dallas like the kids are served in Fort Worth, and better, I’m going to be on the same rampage, because the teachers are frustrated. We’re frustrated. I didn’t manhandle him. I didn’t assault him. I went face-to-face with him. We had some real words.”
The academy has two campuses, one in Dallas and the other in Fort Worth.
In 2012, Prime Prep had what was considered one of the elite high school basketball teams in the country. The school was led by Top-10 2014 SMU commit Emmanuel Mudiay along with 2013 graduates Karviar Shepherd and Jordan Mickey, who are now freshman at TCU and LSU, respectively.
WINSLOW SUSPENDED FOUR GAMES
Jets tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was suspended without pay for four games by the NFL on Friday for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing substances.
Winslow, the team's leading receiver with 17 catches, is immediately beginning his suspension, meaning he will sit out the Jets' game against the Steelers on Sunday.
"It came as a huge surprise to me when I learned that I tested positive for a banned substance," Winslow said in a statement issued by his publicist. "I have investigated all possible sources since learning of the positive test, including possible medical causes, but frustratingly, I do not know the source.
"I do not take supplements that list any banned ingredients, but the NFL policy is very strict, so I am accountable for the results."
He will be eligible to return to the Jets' active roster on Nov. 4, following New York's game against New Orleans on Nov. 3. The Jets have a bye-week break after they play the Saints, so Winslow's next opportunity to play would be on Nov. 17 at Buffalo.
"I sincerely apologize to my teammates, coaches and Jets fans for this situation," Winslow said. "I will work extremely hard during this time away from the field and look forward to contributing to the team as soon as the suspension ends."
Winslow had been listed as doubtful on the Jets' injury report on Friday, and coach Rex Ryan excused him from participating in practice but declined to go into details.
The 30-year-old Winslow, in his first year with the Jets, has been dealing with a balky right knee all season that kept him out of practice all week. He hasn't missed any games, though, and had two touchdown catches, including one in New York's 30-28 victory at Atlanta on Monday night.
It is likely that tight end Zach Sudfeld, claimed off waivers from New England last week, will make his debut with the Jets on Sunday with Winslow out. Along with Cumberland, New York also has Konrad Reuland on the roster at the position. Since Winslow will be placed on the suspended list, the Jets will have an open spot on their 53-man roster.
3RD BUC DIAGNOSED WITH MRSA
The Buccaneers announced that a third player has been diagnosed with MRSA, a day after announcing offensive lineman Carl Nicks is being treated for a recurrence of the staph infection.
Coach Greg Schiano declined to identify the player on Friday, saying the player requested his name not be released.
NFL.com reported the player was cornerback Johnthan Banks. He was the only new addition Friday to the injury report, which said the rookie did not practice due to illness. Banks is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Philadelphia.
Nicks, who along with Lawrence Tynes was diagnosed as having MRSA in August, also sat out practice. He is questionable to play against Philadelphia.
The team flew in an infectious disease expert to answer questions players had before practice.
SUH LOSES APPEAL OF FINE
Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh lost an appeal of the $100,000 fine against him, taking a financial hit for a block below the belt.
Suh's agent, Roosevelt Barnes, told The Associated Press he was notified Friday of the appeal officer's decision.
The six-figure fine was the largest in NFL history for on-field conduct, not including money lost by players due to suspensions. It surpassed the $87,500 Chicago Bears linebacker Bryan Cox was docked in 1996 for making an obscene gesture to a line judge and screaming obscenities.
Suh was fined for a sixth time in his four-year career on Sept. 10, two days after making an illegal block on Vikings center John Sullivan. He apologized to Sullivan, and to teammates for negating an interception return for a touchdown in Detroit's season-opening win. A third-party arbitrator heard Suh's appeal two-plus weeks ago.
"We're disappointed that Ndamukong was fined at all and that it wasn't reduced," Barnes told The AP in a telephone interview Friday. "It is clear from the film, when you slow it down frame by frame, that Ndamukong was clearly in front of the player and that his head and shoulder, when he started off blocking him, were above the player's waist. But because Ndamukong left his feet, he was going to hit the ground and was going to get tangled on the lower part of the player's body."
WILLIAMS OUT FOR SEASON
Bears middle linebacker D.J. Williams will miss the remainder of the season because of a chest injury. Williams ruptured his left pectoral muscle tendon during Thursday's win over the New York Giants.
Coach Marc Trestman was not sure on Friday how the injury occurred. Williams, signed in the offseason to help replace Brian Urlacher, left in the third quarter, the latest injury for a defense that's had its share. The Bears visit Washington next week, and with Williams out, rookie Jonathan Bostic figures to start in his place.
Season-ending knee injuries to defensive tackle Henry Melton and his replacement Nate Collins, not to mention a turf toe injury that's kept Stephen Paea out of the past two games, have forced Chicago to do some major shuffling in the interior. Corey Wootton had to move inside from defensive end and Julius Peppers has been seeing time there, too.
Besides those issues, Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Tillman has dealt with groin and right knee problems in recent weeks. The knee issue kept him out of Thursday's game, although Trestman said he would have been able to play if the game was on Sunday.
As for Williams, he started four of the six games he played and had 35 tackles and two sacks. In 10 seasons with Denver and Chicago, he has 921 tackles, 22 1/2 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, seven fumble recoveries and two interceptions.
He was getting sort of a second chance when he signed a one-year deal with Chicago in March after missing nine games with Denver last season while serving a pair of league-mandated suspensions. The Broncos released him on the eve of free agency, freeing them of his $6 million salary.
CASSEL NAMED STARTER
Matt Cassel will start at quarterback for the Vikings against Carolina on Sunday, a seemingly inevitable decision finally confirmed by coach Leslie Frazier.
Cassel helped the Vikings get their first victory of the season with a solid performance in London against Pittsburgh Sept. 29, a game Christian Ponder sat out of because of a broken rib. Ponder was cleared to play this week, though. Despite Frazier's earlier statement that Ponder was still the starter when healthy, the Vikings decided to make the former first-round draft pick their backup.
Frazier said his mind was made up a couple of days ago.
"I think it's always tough when you make a change at quarterback," he said. "You have to take a lot of factors into it when you're doing that. You don't make those decisions lightly, and we didn't. We'll see how it plays out."
The Vikings signed ex-Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman this week, further muddling the position. Frazier wasn't ready to declare Freeman an option for the next game, Oct. 21 on the road against the Giants, but he said he'd re-evaluate the situation Monday.
Cassel is 30-33 in 63 career starts, most of them with Kansas City. He said he didn't find out until Friday. "I've been focusing on it without really knowing but at the same time anticipating maybe this would happen," Cassel said. "You know what? You never know in this league. I wouldn't have guessed on Monday we'd have another quarterback in the room as well."
After practice Thursday, Ponder acknowledged the mental challenge of the last few weeks. "I would be lying if I didn't say it's a little disappointing and frustrating," he said. "But I'm not going to get too discouraged about it. I'm a man of faith and I know God is in control."
Contributors: Chris Littmann, Troy Machir, Carl Moritz, The Associated Press
