Two days before he allegedly shot his mother, the son of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy apparently called police to complain that his parents were withholding firearms that he said belonged to him.
The call was the last of at least three to police in the two months before the alleged shooting, including a June 1 call from a counselor at a remote college requesting a welfare check for a person who lived at the home whose description matched Elijah Bieniemy’s.
“This remains an active criminal investigation and we cannot comment on the suspect’s background, history, or medical information,” Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Thomas Julia said in an email to The Athletic. “We have reviewed the incidents referenced in your correspondence as part of our investigation.”
Mia Bieniemy, 57, was shot at the family’s home in Ashburn, Va., on July 26 and critically wounded. Police arrested Elijah Bieniemy, 27, and charged him with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside a dwelling. Mia Bieniemy was transferred out of the ICU last week, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
At a Loudoun County court hearing last week, a judge granted a request from Elijah Bieniemy’s public defender for him to undergo a mental evaluation. Elijah Bieniemy “appears to suffer from significant mental health issues” and “does not appear able to assist in his own defense at the present time,” the lawyer wrote in court filings.
Reid said Monday that Mia Bieniemy was “doing better” and “keeps improving by the day.” He reiterated that there was no timeline for Eric Bieniemy, who flew home in the wake of the shooting, to return to the Chiefs.
“He just needs to take care of business there,” Reid said. “And when he gets back here, he gets back here.”
On July 24, two days before the shooting, a 27-year-old man calling from the Bieniemy family’s address told police “his parents are withholding his weapons and that he’s a certified UFC fighter so now he feels like he cannot defend himself,” according to a Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office report, which redacted the name of the caller.
The caller “kept rambling on about also having his (CPR) license and what if he cannot help,” according to the incident report, which was obtained by The Athletic through a public records request.
The man went on to tell police “his parents told him he must give them his firearms if he wants to keep living in the home — and that he could have them back when he needed them.” He added his parents “refuse to give (him) his firearms back when he tries to go to the range to use them.”
Police classified the response as priority 3, meaning they considered the situation urgent but not life-threatening.
It was not the first time in recent months Loudoun County police had received a call for service involving the Bieniemy family.
On June 22, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office filed a heavily redacted incident report with no details regarding a suspicious circumstance at the Bieniemys’ address. The report listed two involved people, with names redacted, that matched the description of Elijah and Mia Bieniemy.
On June 1, according to an incident report, Loudoun County deputies received a request to check on the welfare of a 27-year-old, whose name was redacted from the report, at the Bieniemy address.
The subject of the call “is enrolled in remote college classes,” the report reads. “One of his counselors is concerned for his welfare.”
According to the report, police determined that no one had access to weapons. The report concluded: “This incident does not require an urgent response.”
Jesse Newell contributed to this story.
