Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was cited for misdemeanor assault after a traffic dispute escalated into a confrontation with two 19-year-olds in a Southlake parking lot Sunday, prompting a police response involving officers with their guns drawn.
Southlake police said officers responded around 12:59 p.m. Oct. 25 to reports of a fight involving multiple people in a retail parking lot in the 2200 block of FM 1709. Several callers also reported a possible weapon, prompting officers to draw their firearms upon arrival as a precaution.
No firearms were recovered at the scene.
According to police, the incident began near Kimball Avenue when Bryant, 37, reported that another motorist had cut him off. Both parties subsequently entered a nearby parking lot, where an argument escalated into an alleged assault.
Bryant was issued a citation for assault by contact, a Class C misdemeanor, and released at the scene.
Bryant shared his account of the incident with OutKick, saying the teenagers cut him off in traffic and that one threatened to shoot him.
Now, the two 19-year-olds involved are disputing his version of events, providing NBC 5 with video that shows the former Cowboys star confronting them and knocking a phone out of one of their hands.
?OUTKICK EXCLUSIVE: A confrontation with alleged reckless drivers ends with Dez Bryant on the ground in handcuffs. Police point a gun at the former Cowboys star as his daughters watch. Bryant was cited for assault following the incident. https://t.co/DOpnR4WMLP
— OutKick (@Outkick) October 26, 2026
Noah Reyes and Terrance Avery told NBC 5 they were headed to a restaurant after church when the encounter began at a traffic light near Kimball Avenue and Southlake Boulevard.
Reyes said Avery was honking his horn at him as a joke when he noticed Bryant in a nearby vehicle.
“And I look over to my right, and I look, and I double look, I’m like, well that’s Des Bryant,” Reyes said.
When the light turned green, Reyes said they accelerated to turn into the parking lot of the restaurant they planned to visit.
The teenagers deny cutting Bryant off or driving recklessly.
The disagreement continued into the parking lot, where Reyes and Avery say Bryant got out of his SUV and confronted them.
Avery said he attempted to calm the situation rather than engage in an argument.
“I never even got in an argument with him. Whole time I’m talking to him, I’m trying to de-escalate the situation and get him to calm down. He just was on 10,” Avery said.
Video provided to NBC 5 shows Bryant shouting at Reyes before slapping a phone out of his hand.
The teenagers allege Bryant then picked up the phone and threw it on the ground.
Reyes said he felt intimidated during the confrontation.
“I’m 19 years old, I’m a kid. Why are you picking on me?” Reyes said.
The teenagers also denied Bryant’s allegation that one of them threatened to shoot him.
“Not at all. I mean, we were leaving church. We’re 19-year-old kids. We’re not legally allowed to have a gun. And what dude in the right mind would bring a gun to church?” Avery said.
Police said several people were temporarily detained while officers investigated the incident.
Avery described the encounter as frightening, particularly when officers arrived with their firearms drawn.
“The whole situation was scary, I mean. I feared for my life for this dude, and then I’m scared about getting shot by a cop, you know?” he said.
Reyes said the experience left him shaken.
“The whole moment itself was just insane,” he said.
Bryant has not responded to NBC 5’s requests for comment regarding the teenagers’ account of the confrontation.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC DFW. AI tools helped convert the story into a digital article, and an NBC DFW journalist edited it again before publication.
