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Lightning fan watches Game 4 from arena after 'Shoot! Shoot!' screams elicited call to police

A Florida man got to spend Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at a Tampa Bay Lightning watch party at Amalie Arena and yell as loudly as he wanted. It doesn’t seem like much, but after an incident at home during Game 3 it sure meant a lot to him.

Devon Garnett was watching the third game of the series with friends at his home in Hillsborough County, Florida, when county sheriff’s arrived to speak with him, via WKRN in Tampa.

Neighbors had heard “Shoot, Shoot!” and called police out of concern. But he was yelling at the TV.

So Garnett was invited to the Lightning’s Game 4 watch party on Friday and saw the team win 5-4 in overtime to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. He also had a gift and apology waiting for him when he got home.

Neighbors call police upon hearing ‘Shoot! Shoot!’

Fans were cheering for Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos to shoot the puck, but a neighbor didn't hear it that way. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)
Fans were cheering for Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos to shoot the puck, but a neighbor didn't hear it that way. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press via AP)

Garnett, 26, was being a typical hockey fan when he yelled at a player in the first period to shoot the puck on Wednesday

“I wanted [Victor] Hedman to shoot the puck, so I screamed, ‘Shoot! Shoot!'” Garnett said, via WKRN.

Officers arrived minutes later saying they had received a call about a potential domestic violence dispute. A sheriff’s office report released Thursday showed that someone called saying a couple were screaming at each other and yelled “I dare you to shoot!” per the Tampa Bay Times.

“Four deputies responded and discovered there were no domestic problems at the apartment in question,” Sheriff’s office spokesperson Verdina said in an e-mail, via the Times. “It was a roommate screaming at the TV in regards to a Lightning game.”

Said Garnett, in a fitting quote for what has become a hot hockey town:

“We were just trying to scream for Steven Stamkos,” Garnett said, via WKRN. “Who would call the cops? Did they not know the Lightning were playing?”

Lightning fan gets game, apology after incident

Garnett attended the watch party at the arena. The NHL is playing the Stanley Cup Final in a bubble in Edmonton, Canada. And he could scream as loudly as he wanted.

When he got home, he found that the neighbors who called the police left beer and a note explaining why they had called.

They wrote:

“Sorry about Wednesday night LOL. I grew up around a lot of domestic violence and I legitimately thought someone was going to get shot LOL. Good luck to the Lightning. But I’ll be watching the NBA Finals LOL.”

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