Ex-UFC champ Cain Velasquez arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after shooting in Bay Area
(Editor’s note: Story updated at 2:21 a.m. ET to include booking information; updated at 8:23 a.m. to include court date; updated at 9:51 to include report of attempted murder.)
Former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after an alleged shooting incident that left one man injured on Monday.
TMZ first reported that Velasquez was facing an attempted murder charge on Tuesday morning. The San Jose Police Department later confirmed in a tweet that Velasquez is a suspect but did not specify if he’s been charged.
NBC Bay Area first reported the news of Velasquez’s involvement in the shooting in Morgan Hill, Calif. The San Jose police media relations office said “the motive and circumstances surrounding this incident are still under investigation at this time.”
Online records showed late Monday night that Velasquez was being held at the Santa Clara County main jail without bail. Velasquez is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday at noon PT.
Police said the man injured in the shooting was shot “at least once” near the intersection of Monterey Highway and Bailey Avenue. He was “transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injures.” The shooting was reported at 3:14 p.m. local time, police said.
Velasquez, 39, trains out of American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, about 25 miles north of where the shooting happened. He was born in Salinas, roughly 40 miles south of Morgan Hill.
Velasquez hasn’t competed in MMA since a 26-second knockout loss to current heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in February 2019. Since then he’s dabbled in professional wrestling with WWE, as well as in Mexico.
Velasquez was a two-time UFC heavyweight champion. Various injuries plagued him throughout his career.
