There is no truth to a viral tweet that surfaced on Wednesday indicating Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper had been shot in a parking garage, Dallas Police Chief Renee Hall tweeted on Wednesday. The official statement from the department comes on the heels of several tweets indicating Cooper's condition was unknown after a shooting in the city. Cowboys officials have also since been in contact with Cooper and local law enforcement regarding the rumor, according to The Dallas Morning News.
"There has been a tweet going viral that Amari Cooper has been shot in the Dallas area. We have NOT found any validity to that tweet occurring in the city of Dallas. At this time, there has been NO shooting incident occurring in the city of Dallas," the official Dallas Police Department's account wrote on Twitter.
Update: Cooper is safe and has no idea what initiated Wednesday's false report that he had been shot inside of a parking garage in Dallas. Cooper wrote Wednesday on his Instagram story, "That was fake news y'all, everything good over here."
The original tweet, that was followed by reaction from fans and media members alike, appears to have surfaced from a sports account named The Offseason.
Former Cowboys wideout Dez Bryant tweeted, "This world have some real messed up folks in it... coop just text me... I don’t get it.. why would anybody start a rumor like that?? Weirdos seriously."
Cooper is currently in the middle of contract negotiations with the Cowboys after a career year in Dallas. One of the NFL's leading pass-catchers, Cooper is set to become a free agent next month.
Cooper hauled in 79 catches for a career-best 1,189 yards and eight touchdowns last season, appearing more comfortable within the Cowboys' offensive scheme a year after he was acquired via a midseason trade with the Oakland Raiders.
"I haven't talked to my agent about the contract situation," Cooper said earlier this year at the Pro Bowl. "I don't want to rush it. I don't think it's something that's imminent. I'm just taking it day by day."
Asked if he wanted to stay in Dallas, Cooper said it was a no-brainer: "I do, I mean that whole-heartedly. I love Dallas," Cooper said. "Just to have the opportunity to play on a different team, you see the changes and stuff like that. I feel like it's home. I feel like I want to live there for a long time."