After three SIU men’s basketball players, who have one game left in their three-game suspension, dropped off teammate Devante Drinkard at Smith Hall on Feb. 3, they shot him and another person with an Airsoft rifle, according to an SIUC police report.

The Daily Egyptian obtained details about an alleged battery involving men’s basketball players sophomore center Gene Teague, and junior guards Mykel Cleveland and Troy Long.

According to the police report and a written statement by the victim, the players are being charged for allegedly shooting an undisclosed 20-year old male with an Airsoft rifle from a white Ford Mustang, which they had borrowed from women’s basketball freshman point guard Brooke LeMar while she was out of town.

Before firing the rifle, Mykel Cleveland stopped the car and asked the victim for directions to Smith Hall. After thanking him the victim turned around to walk away from the vehicle.

“I walked about two paces and felt as though a small rock had been thrown at my head,” the victim said in a written statement in the report.

After the suspects shot him, the victim said he heard the sound of small rocks hitting an aluminum awning on the side of the building.

“I realized what sounded like a ratchet rapidly being cocked behind me,” the victim said.

The victim turned back toward the car, and the Mustang then drove away, according to the report. The victim said he was not injured.

Two written statements by witnesses said they saw a white Mustang driving recklessly in Thompson Point that night. One witness said the vehicle squealed its tires as it drove around a corner and started tailgating the car in front of it. Another witness said he or she saw the vehicle “chasing a reddish car nearly bumper to bumper.”

“The white Mustang was driving very aggressively around the turn of the circle,” the latter witness’ statement said.

Cleveland was also driving the car on an expired license. The car was impounded and Cleveland was issued a warning for his expired driver’s license. The Daily Egyptian tried contacting LeMar or her head coach for comment, but athletic department media services said everything that needed to be said was available in the police report.

Campus police declined to comment about the incident.

The Daily Egyptian also contacted the Student Judicial Affairs office but no one was available for comment.

The three players also filed a voluntary written statement with campus police. The players’ statements said they bought three Airsoft guns at approximately 6:36 p.m. Feb. 3 from Walmart, dropped off Drinkard, and shot him and another person.

“(Then) someone shot a random guy,” Cleveland said in his statement.

The unidentified victim was shot in the back of the head while he was wearing a hood, according to the report.

Teague’s statement said he was the one who shot an unidentified person after dropping his teammate off. The players’ statements said they were playing around and shooting each other and fellow teammates.

“With teammates, our (intentions) with the guns were to joke around and shoot each other with the guns,” Long’s said in his statement.

The players were charged with battery, which is a city ordinance violation and a breaks the university code of conduct.

According to the code, “Unauthorized possession on campus means possession without authorization from Director of Department of Public Safety or his/her designee. Weapons include but are not limited to: pellet guns, BB guns, air guns and any other object a reasonable person may believe to be a gun.”

The case is being prosecuted in criminal court by the Carbondale city attorney’s office. The players’ first appearance is March 9, three days after the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. City attorney, Mike Kimmel, who will not be prosecuting the case, said he would not comment about pending litigation because of ethical reasons.

The men’s basketball team did not return calls seeking comment Tuesday, but coach Chris Lowery did hold a press conference on Feb. 4 where he released limited details about the incident.

“The suspension was the right thing to do,” Lowery said in a press conference Feb. 4. “These are not violent kids; these are not bad kids; there was nobody injured; there was nobody hurt, but there are ramifications for your behavior.”

The incident could have led to worse circumstances, said Joe Schafer associate professor in criminology. He said a small number of these incidents result in fatalities every year.

“An officer in the moment doesn’t know if it’s a fake gun,” he said. “It’s difficult to determine from 15 to 20 feet away.”

The incident came during the team’s five-game losing streak, its worst since the 1996-97 season. Without 6-foot-9, 290-pound Teague in the paint, Creighton’s center Gregory Echenique posted 12 points and 14 rebounds Sunday in the Salukis 50-69 loss.

The suspensions end Feb. 19 in time for the Salukis’ ESPN BracketBuster game against Green Bay.