The wife of Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy was shot Sunday night in Northern Virginia, allegedly by their son, according to authorities, NBC News reports.
She was rushed to a hospital with serious injuries after she was shot inside a townhouse in the One Loudoun area of Ashburn, Virginia. First responders were called to the 20000 block of Northpark Drive about 7:30 p.m., the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said.
According to online property records, Eric and Mia Bieniemy own the home where the shooting occurred. Their son who is charged in the shooting also lives in the home, according to a criminal complaint document.
LoudounNow.comLoudounNow.com
Multiple police vehicles responded to the site of the shooting. (Image courtesy of LoudounNow.com.)
A neighbor said called the Bieniemy family a “good Christian family” and said they had appeared to get along. He said he saw Eric and Mia Bieniemy just last weekend, doing some work outside of their home.
Neighbors told News4 they saw one of the couple’s sons removed from the house in handcuffs.
Authorities have not released details on what they believe may have led up to the shooting.
According to a criminal complaint obtained through a court records search, detectives say 27-year-old Elijah Zion Bieniemy shot his mother with a .22-caliber gun twice: once in the left forearm and once in the shoulder. That bullet, the complaint says, traveled across her chest.
Mia Bieniemy required surgery to treat her injuries and part of the bullet is still inside her body, according to that document.
Video shared by a neighbor SWAT team members with long guns drawn, moving in on the home where Mia Bieniemy had just been shot. The door is smashed in, and the rescue unfolds. Moments later, deputies carry a woman down the sidewalk. Then a man is taken out in handcuffs.
The sheriff’s office said Elijah Bieniemy was arrested and is being held without bond. He is charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and discharge of a firearm inside of a dwelling.
Loudoun County Sheriff’s OfficeLoudoun County Sheriff’s Office
Elijah Zion Bieniemy, 27, of Ashburn
Neighbors said they can hardly believe what happened.
“The son’s always very quiet, doesn’t cause any disturbance, so this is very shocking for everybody,” neighbor John Kim said.
The investigation is ongoing. The sheriff’s office said it doesn’t believe there was any threat to the public.
The elder Bieniemy rose to fame as the Kansas City Chiefs’ offensive coordinator from 2018 to 2022.
In the the 2023 season, he left to join the Washington Commanders as the team’s offensive coordinator and assistant head coach — the reason for the family’s home in Ashburn, just minutes away from the Commanders’ practice facility.
He had returned to the Chiefs for this season but right now, the franchise says, Bieniemy is focused on his family, with his wife recovering in the hospital and his son in jail for allegedly shooting her.
Kansas City Chiefs’ Head Coach Andy Reid told reporters Monday that he’s known Mia Bieniemy for years and said she was in stable condition.
“She’s a saint, you know. We all know that the people that know her, one of God’s good blessings right there now, really a special person. So, but things happen, you know. Things happen, and you you just you got to work through it, and so that’s that’s where we’re at right now,” Reid said.
Reid declined to provide any specifics on what may have happened.
“I can’t get into details on it, but things happen sometimes, and Eric will work through it,” Reid said. “He’s got a great support group here, as does his family as needed.”
Elijah Bieniemy has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Aug. 31.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call Loudoun County Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919 or submit a tip through the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office app.
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