In October 2024, then Denver Broncos wide receiver Josh Reynolds and two friends were shot after leaving a local strip club. According to The Denver Post, the incident was a case of mistaken identity as the perpetrators believed Reynolds and his friends to be the same people who used counterfeit money to purchase $250,000 worth of cocaine.

Unsealed court documents reveal that up to 12 conspirators surveilled, pursued and shot at Reynolds and his friends in the early morning hours of October 18, 2024. Reynolds was shot in the left arm and the back of the head, but fortunately, he did not sustain any major injuries.

The suspects followed Reynolds and his group as they exited a strip club around 2:45 a.m. and opened fire while they drove toward the highway. The shooting persisted on the highway until Reynolds and his friends were forced to abandon their vehicle due to its inoperability.

According to police reports, the suspects mistakenly believed Reynolds and his companions were responsible for scamming them with counterfeit money during a cocaine transaction, but they were entirely uninvolved. A day before the attack, cleaning staff discovered $37,000 in “movie currency” and white powder in a hotel room at a Denver-area Best Western.

While whether this was the fraudulent transaction in question remains unconfirmed, prosecutors state that at least two individuals from that Best Western drug deal were connected to the shooting involving Reynolds and his friends.

Burr Charlesworth, who drove one of the vehicles that pursued Reynolds and his group, was convicted of felony assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Charlesworth was among eight individuals charged in the shooting, with one additional suspect still at large.

Last December, less than two months post-incident, Reynolds was waived by the Broncos before being claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Currently in his ninth season in the NFL, Reynolds signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets in March.