FAMILY TIES

Aaron Hernandez’s Troubled Brother Admits to Threatening UConn Shooting

Federal prosecutors said Dennis Hernandez, who played football at UConn, sent threatening Facebook messages in July 2023.

The brother of late Patriots player Aaron Hernandez has pleaded guilty to threatening a mass shooting at the University of Connecticut’s main campus. Federal prosecutors said Dennis Hernandez, 38, who played football at UConn, sent threatening Facebook messages in July 2023. Police said Hernandez drove to UConn and Brown University, where he once served at the quarterbacks coach, to “map the schools out” for a shooting. “I would recommend remaining away from there because when I go I’m taking down everything,” Hernandez wrote, according to court documents. “And don’t give a f–k who gets caught in the crossfire. I’ve died for years now and now it’s others people turn. I’m prepared to give my life. ... Not all shootings are bad I’m realizing. Some are necessary for change to happen.” He pleaded guilty to transmitting interstate communications containing a threat to injure, which carries up to five years in prison. Hernandez has been in jail since his arrest in 2023. His younger brother, Aaron, was arrested for murder after three seasons as a tight end for the Patriots. He died by suicide in jail in 2017.