New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman thwarted a potential school shooter through the power of social media, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Edelman, who was the star of Super Bowl LI with his miraculous catch but missed the entire 2017 due to ACL surgery, was visiting former teammate Danny Amendola in Austin, Texas, last month when he got a direct Instagram saying: “Dude, there is a kid in your comment section says he s going to shoot up a school, i think you should alert the authority.”
The message came just weeks after the Parkland, Florida, shooting killed 17 people, so Edelman took the threat seriously. “With the emotions of what happened, and I have a kid now, I said, holy Toledo, what is going on?” he recalled in an interview with the Times this week.
His assistant, Shannen Moen, then scoured through comments on Edelman’s Instagram account — which has 1.7 million followers — until she found the message: “I’m going to shoot my school up watch the news.”
She called the police, who tracked the sender’s email and IP address to a 14-year-old in Port Huron, Michigan. When questioned, the teen admitted to sending the message. Authorities also found two rifles that belonged to his mother, police told the Times. Capt. Joseph Platzer of the Port Huron Police Department said the threat was aimed at the middle school that the boy attends in a nearby township.
The suspect was charged with making a false report of a threat of terrorism — a felony punishable with up to four years imprisonment — and remains in a juvenile-detention center.
Edelman is now trying to contact the eagle-eyed follower who alerted him of the threat to thank him.
“Thankfully, this kid said something,” said Edelman, of the person who goes by the Instagram handle jesseyi3. “We’re going to send him something, a care package, just for his work. He’s the real hero.”
Don Yee, who the NFL agent for both Edelman and Tom Brady, told ESPN: “It’s not good enough anymore to disregard comments like those as offhanded. All of us, including players, are learning together to take these kinds of things very seriously.”
Super Bowl LII: Justin Timberlake, Julian Edelman, Jamie Foxx Party in Snowy Minneapolis (Photos)
What a way to start the week! Issa Rae, Justin Timberlake, Ciara and Russell Wilson hung out at Prince's Paisley Park for the "American Express + Justin Timberlake Partner for Intimate Album Listening Experience," as JT let 500 of his closest friends get a preview of his new music before he plays the Super Bowl LII halftime show.
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A blue-hued Jenny McCarthy hung out with SiriusXM radio host Gary Dell'Abate and hubby Donnie Wahlberg, who will no doubt be cheering for the Patriots on Sunday.
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Olympian and Bostonian Aly Raisman hung out with another beloved sports figure in New England, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. Sadly an ACL surgery sidelined Edelman for the season, but at least he could attend the Rolling Stone Live: Minneapolis presented by Mercedes-Benz and TIDAL instead of being on lockdown with the rest of the team.
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Former Pittsburgh Steelers legend Jerome Bettis and current Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen spoke on a panel with ESPN's Mike Greenberg and Sam Ponder, taking guests "Inside the Game: Insider Hall of Fame.” The lunch sponsored by American Airlines and Casper also featured lots of lobster, so everyone was happy!
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Tiki Barber and Drew Rosenhaus greeted guests with warm hugs for the Thuzio | Rosenhaus Party at Exchange and Alibi Lounge. Clients and friends of the sports agent gathered to kick off the weekend and bid on autographed sports memorabilia. While Rob Gronkowski was resting up for game day, his entire family took over one table. Also spotted were De’Vondre Campbell, Tyreek Hill, Brandon McManus, Jonathan Ogden, Matt Stover, David Meltzer, John Brenkus and ESPN's Matthew Berry.
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2 Live Crew's Luke "Luther" Campbell and Rick Ross hosted the first of a packed weekend of TAO events for Pop Up Thursday.
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Fans braved the cold to watch Rae Sremmurd perform at the Verizon Up Stage at Super Bowl Live on Thursday, as the mercury dropped well below zero and attendees learned the real meaning of "wind chill."
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Cardi B played multiple parties over the weekend, but on Thursday, she played the role of guest with Justine Skye at the Rolling Stone Live: Minneapolis presented by Mercedes-Benz and TIDAL.
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Jamie Foxx put the Foxx in the “Foxx & Friends Dinner" Friday evening -- with Shaquille O'Neal spinning tunes instead of dunking balls -- before hitting up the Bootsy Bellows party.
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JB Smooth bumped into TV physician Dr. Oz, proving that you never know who you'll see at Super Bowl weekend.
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Hannibal Navies, Kimberly Starks, Duane Starks, Bradie James, guest and Clifton Crosby lounged at the Thuzio & Rosenhaus Party at Exchange & Alibi Lounge on Friday night.
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New York Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was forced to sit out most of the 2017 season with a fractured ankle, but was healthy enough to show up to the Rolling Stone party.
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Mercedes' "Last Fan Standing" game gave contestants the chance to win a new Mercedes-AMG C43 Coupe, which is better than a Super Bowl ticket for some people!
One of the many celebrities at the Rolling Stone party was the Mercedes-AMG GT C Roadster, which an endless stream of party-goers wanted to pose for photos with.
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Heisman Trophy winner-turned minor league baseball player Tim Tebow was among the current and former athletes at the Rolling Stone party courtesy of Mercedes.
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Flo Rida turned the 15th Annual “Leather & Laces” party into a dance frenzy on Friday night, as he plowed through the crowd drinking champagne straight from the bottle.
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Jenny McCarthy went blue for Super Bowl weekend as she co-hosted the "Leather & Laces" party. Thankfully she opted against Philadelphia Eagles green, which may have sparked the ire of her Patriots-loving husband, Donnie Wahlberg.
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The only person more hyped than Flo Rida at the “Leather & Laces” party was the Hype Man himself, WWE Superstar Mojo Rawley, who jumped up on stage to dance with Flo in a custom-made pink Zubaz suit. As you do ...
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Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez and Russell Wilson have a World Series ring, multiple Grammy nominations and a Super Bowl ring between them. That was typical of the caliber of guests at the Wheels Up Super Saturday Tailgate as A-Rod showcased some of his new business projects including Chris Gronkowski's Ice Shaker.
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The Patriots own two customized Boeing 767, but players like Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski still love traveling in style on Wheels Up, so it was no surprise that Edelman made an appearance at the Super Saturday Tailgate. He and the other guests got kitted out in Wheels Up swag, ate warming chili and hearty football-shaped pretzels while listening to O.A.R.
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Nobody likes food more than ESPN's Mike Golic, so no wonder the "Golic and Wingo" host looked happy when he met celebrity chef Guy Fieri at the Wheels Up Super Saturday Tailgate at Quincy Hall. Do you think he persuaded the restaurateur to name a sandwich after him.
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Shaq was definitely the warmest man of the weekend as he showed off a full-length fur coat at the Fanatics party on Saturday. We don't know if it was real of fake but we can't imagine how many little animals it would take to make that much fur ...
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The Chainsmokers duo Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart melted away any cold feelings as they performed a rendition of “All-Star” by Smash Mouth and “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” by the Backstreet Boys at the Fanatics party on Saturday.
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Pepsi has long been the official soda of Super Bowl, so it's only fitting that the brand would take over downtown Minneapolis. Cindy Crawford took her son Presley Gerber to the Generations Campaign and hosted a live interactive pop-up experience at Nicollet Island Pavilion to relive her own iconic 1992 Pepsi ad.
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Self-described as the "granddaddy of Super Bowl parties,” Leigh Steinberg’s annual invitation-only on Saturday afternoon welcomed everyone from Hall of Famers to Hollywood stars. This year's party also featured the Steinberg DeNicola Humanitarian Awards, and former troubled quarterback Ryan Leaf was among the guests.
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While they didn't quite make it to the Super Bowl, L.A. Rams legend Eric Dickerson must still have been impressed with his former team's performance in the 2017 season. The iconic running back got to celebrate with another sporting legend, Leigh Steinberg.
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Tom Brady was the star of the show Sunday, but Super Saturday belonged to Jennifer Lopez as she dazzled the Armory at the AT&T presents DirecTV NOW Super Saturday Night.
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While he'd rather be playing in the Super Bowl, Drew Brees was having a good time with Keegan-Michael Key at the DirecTV and AT&T Jennifer Lopez show.
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J-Lo repped her boyfriend Alex Rodriguez's former team by wearing a bedazzled Yankees hat and his replica jersey on stage.
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It was a tale of two quarterbacks when Dak Prescott met Eli Manning while watching J-Lo at the AT&T presents DirecTV NOW Super Saturday Night. The Cowboys and Giants QBs may be NFC East rivals on-field, but appear to be pals off of it.
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Post Malone was joined by DJ Marshmello and rapper Cardi B at the Maxim Party powered by super-club E11EVEN MIAMI on Saturday night. The h.wood group bash, which was packed with beautiful people and influencers as always, was produced by Karma International.
An Olympian, a Heisman Trophy winner and a billionaire NBA owner walk into a bar... which is even cooler when the trio is Aly Raisman, Tim Tebow and Mark Cuban and that bar is a VIP suite at J-Lo's DirecTV NOW Super Saturday party.
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J-Lo brought out her friends on Saturday night, including fellow "World of Dance" judge Ne-Yo, as the "Jenny From the Block" singer made her third wardrobe change of the night.
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Hollywood hot spot Bootsy Bellows braved the Bold North to host the “Bootsy Bellows Big Game Pop Up” presented by American Airlines + Casper, where 21 Savage entertained the likes of Jamie Foxx, Shaquille O’Neal aka DJ Diesel, Olivia Culpo, Jesse Metcalfe & Cara Santana and Baker Mayfield.
Floyd Mayweather and his Money Team made their presence known all over Minneapolis Super Bowl weekend, and no more so than at the Maxim party Saturday night. Security was tight around the boxing champ when he entered the party, which was produced by Karma International sponsored by Captain Morgan and Bud Light.
EDM DJ Marshmello was one of the performers taking over a 51,000-sq. ft. event complex near U.S. Bank Stadium at the Maxim party, where he played his collaboration hits by Jack Ü, Zedd and Selena Gomez for the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and Floyd Mayweather.
Shaquille O'Neal acted like a fan boy when he met Patriots owner Robert Kraft at the Fanatics party on Saturday afternoon. It's not usual that a team owner is the biggest draw of a party, but the Patriots are no normal team. Kraft and Shaq were among the many A-listers enjoying The Chainsmokers' medley of their hits “Closer” and “Don’t Let Me Down.”
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Massachusetts native Maria Menounos rallied her fellow Patriots fans at StubHub's Field House pre-game tailgate on Sunday at Target Field. The entertainment TV host sparked a "flash mob karaoke" at the event, before "sweetly harassing Eagles fans , eating amazing food, and gathering Pats fans to prepare to be loud and proud!" according to her Instagram.
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DirecTV, Maxim, Playboy, Bootsy Bellows, Rolling Stone and Wheels Up are just a few of the A-list hosts dominating the party scene in Minneapolis
What a way to start the week! Issa Rae, Justin Timberlake, Ciara and Russell Wilson hung out at Prince's Paisley Park for the "American Express + Justin Timberlake Partner for Intimate Album Listening Experience," as JT let 500 of his closest friends get a preview of his new music before he plays the Super Bowl LII halftime show.
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