Ex-Seahawk Rickey Thenarse Shot in LA, Reportedly Following Argument with Girlfriend

Former Seahawks player Rickey Thenarse was shot near his abdomen region and had to undergo surgery to pull the bullet out.

Ex-Seahawk Rickey Thenarse Shot in LA, Reportedly Following Argument with Girlfriend

Rickey Thenarse (Image via Huskers.com/ESPN)

In Short
  • Former NFL safety Rickey Thenarse was shot in the abdomen during an incident in Los Angeles.
  • The shooting reportedly followed an argument involving Thenarse, his girlfriend, and the father of her child.
  • Thenarse was hospitalized and underwent surgery; his current condition is unknown.

Former NFL safety Rickey Thenarse has been hospitalized following a shooting incident that took place last Friday in Los Angeles. According to reports, Thenarse received a gunshot wound in his abdomen.

Thenarse arrived at the hospital covered in blood. The doctors quickly operated on him. After a long surgery, they were able to locate the bullet and remove it from Thenarse’s body. His current condition remains unknown.

Thenarse attended Jordan High School in LA, where he blossomed into a two-way star. He excelled at both running back and safety. During his senior season in school, Thenarse had 112 rushes for 1,344 yards and 10 touchdowns, along with putting up 19 receptions for 628 yards and five touchdowns. This earned him first-team all-city and all-state honors.

According to ESPN and 247 composite rankings, Thenarse was a four-star recruit and the 94th best player coming out of high school. Instead of joining local LA powerhouses USC and UCLA, Thenarse committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He played 51 games for the Huskers from 2006 to 2010.

What led to Rickey Thenarse getting shot?

A TMZ Sports report suggests that Thenarse got entangled in a love triangle involving his girlfriend and the father of her child. TMZ did not reveal their names.

Ex-Seahawk Rickey Thenarse Shot in LA, Reportedly Following Argument With Girlfriend
Rickey Thenarse (Image via KU Sports)

Sources in the neighborhood law enforcement divulged that witnesses saw a man and a woman flee the scene of the crime in an SUV. The cops are still searching for them.

Thenarse ended up on the Seattle Seahawks team after going undrafted during the 2011 season. He collected one sack in three preseason games, but was cut in the final roster cuts before the regular season began.

In 2012, MaxPreps learned from veteran LA-based high school sports expert, Eric Sondheimer, that LA Jordan had hired Rickey Thenarse as the fullbacks coach.

Several notable NFL players have been victims of shooting incidents in recent years

Back in December 2025, New York Jets’ defensive back Kris Boyd was shot outside of a popular restaurant located in downtown Manhattan. Boyd was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where the doctors took out the bullet from his abdomen. He was later discharged but missed the entire year as the Jets placed him on injured reserve.

Boyd was out with other Jets players and a third man when a group of strangers taunted him on the porch of the restaurant. This led to a confrontation between the two groups, and one of the strangers shot Boyd before fleeing the scene.

Three days later, the police identified the assailant with the help of CCTV footage. They arrested Bronx resident Frederick Green, 20, about 360 miles away in the city of Buffalo. Green was later charged with attempted murder in January 2026.

A year before Boyd’s case, in August 2023, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Rickey Pearsall battled against death after a 17-year-old from Tracy, California, shot the wide receiver in the side of his chest while attempting to steal his Rolex watch. The bullet miraculously avoided any major arteries.

Just four months before Pearsall’s incident, Texans WR Tank Dell sustained minor injuries in a shooting encounter in Sanford, Florida.

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