Former NFL running back Zac Stacy appears to have violently assaulted the mother of his 5-month-old son while their baby sat nearby on Saturday.
Stacy’s ex-girlfriend, Kristin Evans, filed a restraining order against him on Monday, according to TMZ, which obtained a copy of her application.
In the application, TMZ says, Evans alleges that Stacy violently attacked her in the presence of their child. USA Today says she reported being hospitalized with bumps and bruises and a possible cut to her head.
She posted extremely graphic and disturbing footage of the assault on Facebook on Wednesday, writing “Please share.”
The video shows a man police identified as Stacy yelling at Evans and hitting her as a baby cries in the background. In one segment, he can be seen violently throwing her against a TV, which topples on top of her as a cat dashes out of the room. Another segment of footage shows him throwing her over what appears to be a baby bouncer and saying “I love you” to the child before fleeing.
The video was shot by a surveillance system in Evans’ Florida residence, according to a police affidavit.
The New York Post reports that the Oakland Police Department in Florida has launched a manhunt for the former New York Jet, who they believe has fled the state of Florida and may be hiding in the Nashville area.
Evans posted an Instagram Story on Thursday to ask the public for help in locating him.
“I don’t know why his friends are hiding him,” she says in the video. “If you see him — he drives a white Kia Optima, a 2020, I believe, or a 2021.”
TMZ reports that police have provided Evans with security assistance on Thursday and that she is now “in an undisclosed location.”
The Oakland Police Department did not immediately reply to HuffPost’s request for comment and additional information.
But the department did tell local Florida news station FOX 35 News that officers had responded to a domestic violence call on Saturday in which Stacy was the suspect.
“Officers arrived on scene within two minutes and were able to determine a domestic violence battery had taken place and that the suspect, Zackary Stacy, had fled the scene,” police said. “Officers continued to search for Stacy, and the case was forwarded to the investigations unit of the Oakland Police Department to establish probable cause to secure a warrant for Stacy’s arrest.”
Stacy is facing two felony charges for aggravated battery and criminal mischief, according to police documents obtained by TMZ.
Meanwhile, current NFL players like Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams and Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell have reacted to the video of Stacy on social media and are condemning the attack.
Chris Long, who played with Stacy in St. Louis, tweeted that the video made his “stomach turn,” and he said he would not be retweeting it.
“Crazy to play [with] someone for a couple years & you have no idea what kind of bullshit they do at home,” Long wrote.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.