The father of Tennessee Titans player Caleb Farley was killed when a North Carolina home Farley owned exploded late Monday, officials said.
The blast, which occurred at the home in Mooresville just before midnight, killed Robert Matthew Farley, 61, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
No foul play is suspected, the sheriff’s office said.
Caleb Farley, 24, a cornerback drafted by the Titans in 2021, was not home at the time of the explosion.
The body of Robert Farley, 61, was found in a back bedroom, according to Iredell County Fire Marshal’s Office and Emergency Management spokesperson Kent Greene. Family friend Christian Rogers, 25, was injured, Greene added.
Emergency units arrived early Tuesday morning at the Mooresville property and found Rogers, who “was exiting the house and was transported to Atrium Main in Charlotte with non-life-threatening injuries,” Greene said earlier Tuesday.
“It was like Armageddon. There was insulation coming out of the air like snow, bricks down the street hundreds of feet away, pieces of wood,” a neighbor, Pete Schuerger, “Pretty devastating to see that big explosion.”
Caleb Farley wasn't home at the time of the explosion, his agent confirmed to CBS News. He had purchased the home "with our understanding it was for his father," Kent Greene, director of fire services and emergency management for Iredell County, said at the news conference. Farley, along with his aunt and uncle, came into town Tuesday morning and went to the site of the scene, Greene said.
The 6,391-square-foot home was completely destroyed, along with several vehicles, authorities said. "There's nothing left of the structure except maybe a partial wall," said Greene.
Neighbours told local news outlet Queen City News that they had smelled gas and heard the explosion.
"A loud boom, about five minutes to midnight," said neighbour Clay Wild. "I can't believe it."
Caleb Farley grew up in nearby Maiden, North Carolina, before going to play American football at Virginia Tech. He was later the number 22 overall pick in the 2021 draft.
Titans coach Mike Vrabel gathered the players after practice on Tuesday and they kneeled to pray for Mr Farley.
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