HS football player shot teammate with gun hours after winning title
A high school football player in Texas was arrested for allegedly accidentally shooting a teammate with a rifle just hours after the team won a state title.
Xavier MayfieldThe 18-year-old was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Dallas County Jail on Saturday, December 20. He is currently being held on a $50,000 bond. It is not clear if Mayfield currently has an attorney.
The shooting happened Saturday around 9:30 p.m. at a home in Dallas, just hours after Mayfield and South Oak Cliff High School captured the 2025 UIL Class 5A Division II State Championship with a win over Dr. Thomas E. Randle High School at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by Fox 4Mayfield was in a bedroom with the victim and another teammate when they were “viewing photos taken from a football game that had taken place early in the day.”
As he walked out of the room, the teammate saw Mayfield “waving the gun used in the offense” before hearing a single shot.
According to the affidavit, the victim was shot in the neck with the AR15 ABC rifle Mayfield was holding.
Mayfield admitted to shooting the victim and told authorities that he initially took him to the hospital himself, but realized he was bleeding too much and called 911.
The identity and status of the victim, who was rushed to hospital, is unknown.
“I heard it was an accident. There was nothing malicious going on,” Dallas city councilman Maxie Johnson said in a statement. “Unfortunately this has happened, but it does not detract from the work that has been done and the work we will continue to do together.”
Johnson added, “We have great kids at South Oak Cliff High School. Our kids have a bright future, and we pray for them and know they will be successful.”
It was the third state title in five years for South Oak Cliff. Head coach Jason Todd also became the first black coach in history to win three UIL state championships.
“A lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance, a lot of dedication, all those words that define us,” Todd said after the win on Saturday, according to the Dallas Morning News. “Saying what should be impossible isn’t impossible. Getting kids to bond and believe, create a culture. We’ve accomplished those kinds of things here at South Oak Cliff.
Todd added, “All I’m saying is it’s not about the money, it’s about how much you’re willing to work. The work is what we believe in. No amount of money can buy what we got at South Oak Cliff.”
The coach admitted that guiding his group of young men to another state title wasn’t always easy, but preached the idea of ”family.”
“I tell them family has fights, family fights, family tells jokes,” Todd said. “We’re having a great time too. But at the end of the day, family is family. And when family comes together against an outsider, it doesn’t matter what problems we’ve had, we’ll be together.”
