Charged atmosphere

At least 27 professional and Division 1 collegiate athletes have been involved in handgun-related incidents in the last 21 months. They include two players acquired this year by the New England Patriots and a member of the Boston Celtics.

Oct. 13, 2006 -- Police in the Dominican Republic respond to a complaint that Chicago White Sox shortstop Juan Uribe fires a handgun during an incident in San Cristobal in which two men are shot.

Oct. 6, 2006 -- Indianapolis police seize a handgun from Stephen Jackson after he allegedly fires five shots in the air during a fight outside a strip club. Police also seize handguns from Jackson's teammates, Jamaal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels. All three players are licensed to carry concealed weapons. Jackson is charged with felony criminal recklessness.

Sept. 4, 2006 -- University of Texas cornerback and NFL prospect Tarell Brown is charged with unlawfully carrying a loaded handgun after police allegedly discover him asleep in the back seat of a car with a firearm in his lap.

Aug. 16, 2006 -- The US Secret Service charges former Charlotte Bobcat Lonny Baxter with carrying a handgun without a license after shots are fired from his SUV near the White House. Baxter has recently signed with a pro team in Europe.

Aug. 9, 2006 -- Arizona State basketball player Bryson Krueger is arrested on drug and weapons charges, including carrying an unregistered, loaded handgun.

Aug. 9, 2006 -- Former Ohio State and Denver Broncos football player Maurice Clarett is charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit after a highway chase in Columbus, Ohio. Police say Clarett kept one loaded handgun under his leg while he was driving and three others in the trunk.

July 21, 2006 -- University of Miami safety and NFL prospect Brandon Meriweather pulls a handgun from his pants and fires three rounds at an assailant who has shot Meriweather's teammate, Willie Cooper, in the buttocks in South Miami. The assailant is not struck and Meriweather is not charged.

June 25, 2006 -- Nearly three weeks after he is traded to the New England Patriots, Johnathan Sullivan is charged with several misdemeanors, including marijuana possession, during a traffic stop in Griffin, Ga. Police determine he is licensed to carry the handgun in his vehicle.

June 20, 2006 -- Jabar Gaffney of the Houston Texans is charged in New Jersey with unlawful possession of a handgun. He is licensed to carry concealed weapons in Texas but not New Jersey. Gaffney signs with the Patriots Oct. 9, a day before the team cuts Sullivan.

June 8, 2006 -- Zach Randolph of the Portland Trail Blazers is a passenger in a car whose driver is cited for speed racing in Portland, Ore. Police seize two semiautomatic handguns. They are owned by Randolph, who is licensed in Oregon to carry concealed weapons.

May 26, 2006 -- Green Bay Packers draft pick Cory Rodgers is charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon and discharging a firearm after allegedly firing two shots from a handgun outside a nightclub in Fort Worth .

May 20, 2006 -- University of Alabama linebacker Juwan Simpson, an NFL prospect, is arrested on several charges, including possession of a handgun without a permit.

Feb. 6, 2006 -- Trail Blazers guard Sebastian Telfair, now with the Celtics, is preparing to depart from Hanscom Field in Bedford when security officers discover his luggage contains a loaded handgun in a pillowcase. The gun is registered in Oregon to Telfair's fiancee, Samantha Rodriguez. Telfair says he unwittingly packed the gun and is not charged.

Jan. 28, 2006 -- Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals is charged with illegally carrying a concealed weapon and aggravated assault with a firearm after pointing a handgun at a group outside a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

Jan. 9, 2006 -- Former Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, now with the Miami Dolphins, is charged with brandishing a firearm in Suffolk, Va., after allegedly pointing a handgun at several teenagers in a McDonald's parking lot.

Aug. 28, 2005 -- Celtics guard Tony Allen is involved in an altercation in a Chicago restaurant in which he allegedly punches a man and fractures his eye socket. The man's friend is shot twice with a handgun and police investigate whether the shooter is a member of Allen's entourage. Allen is charged with three counts of aggravated battery, but is not charged in the shooting.

July 2, 2005 -- Dallas Mavericks free agent Alan Henderson is charged with carrying a loaded handgun in his luggage at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

June 27, 2005 -- Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Wilcox is arrested in Columbia, Md., after police discover an unregistered handgun in his car during a traffic stop.

June 11, 2005 -- Chicago Bears lineman Tank Johnson is charged with unlawful possession of a handgun for allegedly keeping a fully loaded firearm in his SUV outside a Chicago nightclub.

June 1, 2005 -- Sean Taylor of the Washington Redskins allegedly points a handgun at two individuals during a dispute in Miami over an all-terrain vehicle. He is charged with aggravated assault with a firearm.

May 29, 2005 -- Mike Doss of the Indianapolis Colts faces several weapons charges after allegedly firing several shots in the air from a semiautomatic handgun near a large crowd in the nightclub district in Akron, Ohio.

May 13, 2005 -- University of Virginia basketball player Elton Brown, who later signs with the New York Knicks, is arrested on weapons charges after he allegedly points a handgun at a man during a confrontation at a shopping mall in Charlottesville, Va.

May 10, 2005 -- University of Cincinnati basketball player Roy Bright allegedly fires a handgun on campus and is arrested on a felony charge of carrying a concealed weapon.

April 4, 2005 -- Former Seattle SuperSonics forward Shawn Kemp, while attempting to return to the NBA, is arrested on drug charges in Shoreline, Wash. Police search Kemp's vehicle and find a loaded handgun, which is registered to him.

Feb. 24, 2005 -- Kelly Campbell of the Minnesota Vikings is arrested in Atlanta on drug and weapons charges, including theft by receiving stolen property, a semiautomatic handgun.

Source: News reports