Police say they’ve arrested a second suspect in the weekend stabbing of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Mike Adams.
Police spokeswoman Diane Richard says 26-year-old Dquay Means was arrested Monday on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and conspiracy. Police announced Monday that 25-year-old Michael Paranay had been arrested on the same charges. Both are from Pittsburgh.
Richard says a third suspect is still being sought.
The 23-year-old Adams was stabbed twice early Saturday during an attempted carjacking on the city’s South Side. He suffered non-life threatening wounds to the abdomen and forearm.
“He’s very blessed to be in the position he’s in, in that we expect a full recovery from him,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Monday. “I visited with him a couple days this weekend. He’s got great team support and family support. He realizes, of course, how fortunate that he is. We’re just glad that he’s going to be OK.”
Tomlin estimated that Adams will be cleared to resume football activities in six to eight weeks.
No attorneys for Means and Paranay were listed on court papers. There was no answer at a phone listing for Paranay and a listing for Means couldn’t be found.
Preliminary hearings are scheduled for June 12 and 13.
Adams’ teammates say the late-night assault should serve as a warning about the dangers of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, even if you are 6-foot-7 and 345-pounds like Adams.
“There ain’t nobody who’s too big,” Steelers linebacker Larry Foote said. “Once you’ve got a weapon involved, everybody’s the same size then.”
Foote added he thinks the incident should serve as a wakeup call for players to “be aware of their surroundings” and avoid questionable areas at night.
“I would say that nothing ever good happens after 12 o’clock,” Foote said. “But you should be able to be safe. You shouldn’t be alone, and stuff happens. This is the type of world we live in today.”
Adams is penciled in as the starting right tackle but will be spelled by second-year lineman Kelvin Beachum while he rehabs.
It’s not exactly the way Beachum wanted to get back to his old job. Beachum started five games at right tackle at the end of the 2012 season when Adams was sidelined with an ankle injury. The Steelers plan to use him as a utility lineman this year and even have him taking snaps at center.
He’s currently on hiatus from that job, however, as he handles Adams’ usual post. The two are good friends and Beachum allowed he was shaken by the crime.
“It’s been difficult this week with him not here,” Beachum said.
Center Maurkice Pouncey spent time with Adams in the hospital and called the near-miss a “blessing.”
“Even Mike said that the angel was with him that day,” Pouncey said, “and everybody knows he was a really blessed kid to stay alive.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.