Tretola one of two people involved in shooting

ROGERS — After Bret Bielema got the call about Sebastian Tretola being one of two people involved in an early Saturday morning shooting, he was relieved his former player was safe.

“At first my heart went out just to make sure everything was okay,” he said before the NWA Razorback Club golf tournament in Rogers on Monday.

Then he started thinking.

“It’s kinda just one of those alarms that goes off in your head that makes everybody aware of just what’s out there in the world we live in today,” Bielema said.

Fayetteville police responded shortly after 1:45 a.m. to a parking lot near Lit Lounge off Dickson Street, and two shooting victims were later transported to the hospital, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Monday.

Police didn’t identify either victim, but Paul Kuharsky of 104.5 The Zone in Nashville cited a statement from the Tennessee Titans, where Tretola now plays, indicating he was one of the two people who were shot.

According to the statement, Tretola was grazed by a bullet, has been treated and released and is “thankful for only a minor injury.”

“When I got ahold of him yesterday, the first thing I gotta do is hug you, the second is I gotta punch you,” Bielema said.

He got the news of the arrest early, because with a newborn in the house, Bielema is up early and looking at his phone.

“Unfortunately, it was a negative situation,” he said. “At first, my heart went out just to make sure everything was okay. I reached out to Sebastian and didn’t get him, then reached out to his mom, she answered, talked through the scenario … kinda just went back and forth through the course of the day and thankfully he’s good.”

In the end, Bielema was just glad, first, that none of his current players were involved and that Tretola was okay, suffering a minor injury when a bullet grazed him.

“He’s kinda always been on that edge, you know,” Bielema said. “I want him to realize what he has. I love the kid to death and hopefully he’ll triumph from this moment.”