Wounded USF Football Player Charged with Aggravated Assault, Cannabis Possession After Alleged Road-Rage Incident

A football player for the University of South Florida was arrested last week after Tampa police say he was involved in a road-rage incident while in possession of cannabis.

Hassan Ismael “Hot” Childs was taken into custody upon his release from Tampa General Hospital last Monday after being treated for gunshot wounds. Officers allege the 22-year-old was shot twice after pointing a firearm at a vehicle containing a family of three.

According to authorities, Jovanni Jimenez was driving with his wife Jennifer and their three-year-old child on Skipper Road when he says a Chevrolet Malibu began tailgating him and attempting to pass his vehicle. Jimenez alleges that he drove into an apartment complex approximately one mile from the USF campus, and Childs stopped alongside his vehicle and pointed a firearm at him. Jimenez did not immediately notice the firearm, but he produced his own upon being made aware of the situation, police say.

Jimenez says he continued on with Childs close behind, and again stopped the vehicle. Childs is then alleged to have approached the passenger side of the vehicle, where he took aim at Jimenez. Jimenez says he fired three rounds at Childs, striking him in his right arm and twice on his trunk. He says he then left the area and immediately notified authorities.

Upon arriving at the scene, Tampa police say the defensive back had a loaded firearm and under twenty grams of cannabis in his possession.

Authorities say both men have valid concealed-carry permits. Local media indicates that Jimenez has a minor criminal record in Florida, while Childs appears to have none.

A Kissimmee native, Childs was booked into Hillsborough County Jail at four o’clock last Sunday on three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of possession of less than twenty grams of cannabis. He was released the next evening after posting a $6,500 bond. Childs was dismissed from the university’s football team on Tuesday.

Jimenez had not been charged at the time of the report, as authorities indicated that an investigation was ongoing.

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