Report: Vikings Lineman Everson Griffen Threatened To Shoot Someone At Minneapolis Hotel

Everson Griffen missed Sunday’s surprising 27–6 home loss to the Buffalo Bills due to “a personal matter,” according to Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer. According to a report from ABC 5 Eyewitness News, the personal matter was a strange episode at the team’s Minneapolis team hotel Saturday that involved Griffen pacing the lobby and threatening to “shoot someone.”

According to the report, at one point staff members moved to the back of the office while Griffen paced around in the lobby.

Police dispatch audio archived online includes a dispatcher saying that the suspect said to the staff that if someone wouldn’t let him in his room that he was going to shoot someone. Police said no gun was ever seen.

At one point, the report said the caller stated that Griffen threatened to assault staff members and was laying on the lobby floor.

Griffen was reportedly not arrested at the scene after he apparently “left of his own accord,” presumably before police arrived. He was still held out Sunday, and the Vikings are reportedly treating this as a “personal health-related issue,” per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero:

Griffen had reportedly missed three practices leading up to the game due to a knee injury, and was listed as a non-participant at practice on the team’s Monday injury report, with the cause listed as “knee/not injury related.”