Vikings rookie recovering from shooting in hometown of DC

While playing at H.D. Woodson High School, just a few miles east of the U.S. Capitol, Vikings rookie Jaylen Twyman dreamed football could lead him away from the Washington, D.C. streets that devastated his family.

The Vikings selected the University of Pittsburgh defensive tackle in the sixth round of the NFL Draft this spring. Just last month, Twyman spoke about supporting his loved ones with an NFL paycheck.

"I’m just blessed, you know, to be drafted so we won’t have to worry about those financial problems anymore," he said.

But in the same city where his uncle and brother were shot and killed, Twyman himself became a victim of violence. He was shot four times Monday night while riding in a car and visiting his aunt.

Gregory Fuller, Twyman’s high school football coach, said it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Jaylen was always the type of young man who wants to separate himself from any that type of violent things going on around his life," Fuller said.

Twyman was shot in the arm, leg, rear and shoulder, and is expected to make a full recovery. Once he’s good to go on the field, Fuller said Vikings fans will get to watch "a hell of a football player."

"He’s going to go give all of his heart. He’s going to leave it all on the field not 100% but 1,000% of the time," Fuller said.