911 calls depict chaotic scene surrounding April 6 incident tied to Rudolph
Many people screamed for help on the day a former football star, Travis Rudolph, was accused of murder.
Thirteen 911 calls tied to the shooting were released by the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office on Monday, providing an account of the rapid gunfire, the chaotic scene and the many pleas for help that came in April 6.
“We need emergency assistance!” a panicked caller told emergency operators. The caller described being “right next” to a victim. The caller was told to “give [the victim] something clean and dry like a towel and apply pressure” until the medics got there.
Authorities say Rudolph, a former Florida State football star and NFL player, opened fire on four people, killing one and wounding another two weeks ago in Lake Park. Rudolph, who was arrested hours after the April 6 shooting, faces one count of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
In one call, someone described the gunfire as sounding like an “AK-47 —and that they heard a “guy yelling really loud.” The caller said, ‘I heard multiple, multiple, very succeeding consistent. ‘pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop.’ ”
According to the arrest report, Rudolph, who starred at West Palm Beach’s Cardinal Newman High School, had gotten into an altercation with his girlfriend, then fought with a group of men and shot at them with a rifle while they were trying to leave in a car.
In one of the 911 calls, a man was describing the shooting when shouts could be heard in the background, leading to him saying, “Somebody’s yelling help! Somebody’s yelling help!” The caller began running toward a victim, asking, “Are you OK?” A shooting victim could be heard in the background. Another caller told the dispatch operator “there’s someone outside kind of screaming and now he’s laying on the ground.”
According to the arrest report, a brawl unfolded between Rudolph, 25, and the four men, who were called to the house by Rudolph’s girlfriend after they had gotten into an altercation earlier that evening.
Fighting ensued for “several minutes” before the men walked back to their car. Rudolph allegedly went into house, retrieved a firearm and opened fire on the car as they were leaving, according to the report. One caller said, “We heard them fighting and then it got kind of quiet for a second and then maybe two minutes later we heard the gunshots.” Rudolph, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, has demanded a jury trial. He’ll make his next court appearance on May 7.