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Former Armwood and Florida offensive lineman Matt Patchan, a 6-foot-7, 265-pound five-star recruit, was shot in the shoulder at a Tampa area park on Friday night, but is expected to make a full recovery.
“Matt Patchan was a gunshot victim Friday night at a Tampa area park,” Florida football coach Urban Meyer said in a statement released by the university. “He was a bystander and shot in the left shoulder and is expected to fully recover in three weeks.”
Patchan committed to Florida in January and enrolled early after graduating early from Armwood. He was ranked the No. 11 recruit in the nation by Rivals.com and was an All-USA Today first-team selection.
Messages left on Patchan’s cell phone and his parents’ home phone were not returned.
In addition to Patchan, Armwood coach Sean Callahan confirmed on Monday that Armwood senior Wesley Skiffington also was shot during the same incident.
“It wasn’t a fight,” Callahan said. “He (Patchan) was running away from it. It was in Sadie Park and he was home on spring break and was with a friend.”
“He just said he was there at the time with his buddy,” Callahan said of his conversation with Patchan. “I don’t know if they were hanging out playing basketball or what. He said some kids walked up, and Matt saw the guy pull the gun. He said he started running away and the kid shot him in the back, in the shoulder.”
Callahan said Matt’s father, Matt Patchan Sr., called him the night of the incident “because he needed directions to the Brandon hospital.”
“It didn’t hit a bone or anything like that,” Callahan said. “But I’m not sure exactly what’s going on today. I haven’t talked to him today. I talked to Matt [on Sunday]. He said he was okay, but that’s Matt Patchan [talking]. I don’t know. I’m not a doctor.”
Skiffington served as the Hawks kicker during the 2007 season. He signed a football scholarship with Division I-AA Stony Brook in February.
Callahan said Skiffington, who lives in the Brandon area, was shot in his right, kicking foot during the incident. The bullet went in and out without hitting any bones and Skiffington was okay, Callahan said.
Posted by Sean, Brandon, FL. on 05/15 at 01:36 AM
Questionable places? Have you ever been to Sadie Park? It is a nice park, little kids are there pretty much all day and night, kids play volleyball, softball,basketball. It is in no way a sketchy place. I have been going there for 15 years and have never run into any kind of trouble ever. The story just seems weird, there is something missing.
Posted by Paul Rothschild, Palm River on 05/12 at 02:03 PM
Kids are lucky to be alive. Should give them a good wake up call to stay out of trouble and stay in at night. Patchan has too much to lose, he shouldn’t be out in questionable places in the evening.
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Posted by Debra Smith, Brandon on 05/16 at 08:23 AM
I heard that something started at a Tim McGraw concert. The boys agreed to meet at Sadie park after the concert. The shooter wasn’t at the concert, a buddy of the shooter was at the concert and picked him up and took his buddy to Sadie park. Everybody knows the rest of the story. This is only what I heard from my son that goes to Brandon High School.