A high school football player in Texas was arrested for allegedly shooting a teammate by accident with a rifle just hours after the team won a state title.
Xavier Mayfield, 18, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and booked into the Dallas County jail on Saturday, December 20. He is currently being held on a $50,000 bond. It is not clear if Mayfield currently has an attorney.
The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday at a home in Dallas, just hours after Mayfield and South Oak Cliff High School captured the 2025 UIL Class 5A Division II State Championship with a win over Dr. Thomas E. Randle High School at AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by Fox 4, Mayfield was in a bedroom with the victim and another teammate when they were “reviewing photos that were taken of a football game that had occurred early in the day.”
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While he was walking out of the room, the teammate saw Mayfield “swinging the rifle that was used in the offense” before hearing a single gunshot.
Per the affidavit, the victim was shot in the neck with the AR15 ABC Rifle that Mayfield was holding.
Mayfield admitted to shooting the victim and told authorities he initially tried taking him to the hospital himself, but realized he was bleeding too much and called 911.
The identity and status of the victim, who was rushed to the hospital, is unknown.
“I heard it was an accident. There was nothing malicious going on,” Dallas City Councilman Maxie Johnson said in a statement. “Unfortunately, this happened, but this does not take away from the work that has gone on and the work that we will continue to do together.”
Johnson added, “We have great kids at South Oak Cliff High School. Our kids have bright futures, and we’re praying for them and know that they’re going to be successful.”
It was the third state title in five years for South Oak Cliff. Head coach Jason Todd also became the first Black coach in history to win three UIL state championships.
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“A lot of hard work, a lot of perseverance, a lot of commitment, all those words that define us,” Todd said after the victory on Saturday, per the Dallas Morning News. “Saying what’s supposed to be impossible is not impossible. Getting kids to bond and believe, creating a culture. Those are the type of things that we’ve established here at South Oak Cliff.
Todd added “The one resource that I say — it’s not about money — it’s how much you’re willing to work. In the work, we believe. No amount of money can buy what we got at South Oak Cliff.”
The coach admitted that guiding his group of young men to another state title wasn’t always easy, but preached the idea of “family.”
“I tell them family argues, family fights, family tells jokes,” Todd said. “We have a great time, too. But at the end of the day, family is family. And when family comes together against an outsider, it don’t matter what problems we may have had, we’re going to be together.”
