Alexander Bradley wasn't just a witness. For a long time, he was the guy Aaron Hernandez trusted most. If you look at the timeline of the New England Patriots star's life, Bradley is everywhere—right up until the moment he was left for dead in a Florida industrial park.
People mostly know him as the man who lost an eye. But the story of Alexander Bradley before shooting incidents changed everything is much weirder and more volatile than the headlines suggest. It was a friendship built on a very specific kind of chaos.
The "Solid" Friendship That Wasn't
Before the 2013 Florida shooting, Bradley described his relationship with Hernandez as "solid." They were more than just friends; Hernandez even asked Bradley to be the godfather to his daughter. That's heavy. It’s the kind of bond you don’t usually see between a multi-millionaire NFL athlete and a guy who, by his own admission in court, had been dealing drugs since about 2000.
They spent their time in a way that would make any PR agent scream. Bradley would often stay in the basement of Hernandez’s North Attleboro home. He testified later about a "black box" Hernandez kept down there. Inside? Marijuana, stacks of cash, and a silver semi-automatic pistol.
Honestly, they were living a double life. By day, Hernandez was the star tight end. By night, he and Bradley were hitting clubs, smoking heavily, and feeding into Hernandez’s growing paranoia.
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The Night Everything Changed in Boston
If you want to understand what Bradley was doing before he got shot, you have to look at July 2012. This is the night of the Boston double homicide involving Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado.
Bradley was the driver.
According to Bradley’s testimony, the whole thing started over a spilled drink at Cure Lounge. Someone bumped into Hernandez, a little bit of a drink splashed, and that was it. Hernandez felt "disrespected." To most people, that's a five-minute annoyance. To Hernandez, it was a call to arms.
Bradley claimed he tried to be the peacemaker initially. But later that night, as they pulled up next to the victims' BMW at a red light, Hernandez allegedly told Bradley to "roll the window down and lean back."
- The Weapon: A .38 caliber revolver.
- The Result: Five shots fired.
- The Aftermath: Hernandez reportedly asked, "Did I see that?" before boasting about hitting one in the head and one in the chest.
Afterward, they didn't go to the cops. They went to the home of Bradley’s girlfriend, Brooke Wilcox, in Connecticut. She later testified that Hernandez was pacing around, looking "intoxicated" or just "crazy." Bradley allegedly told her, "This crazy mother****** just did some stupid s***."
Paranoia and the Florida Trip
By early 2013, the friendship was rotting. Hernandez was convinced he was being followed. He thought helicopters were tracking him. He was told by someone in the Patriots organization that iPhones could record conversations even when they were off.
He didn't trust anyone. Not even his "solid" friend.
In February 2013, the duo headed to Miami. They hit Tootsie’s Cabaret, a well-known strip club. Things got tense. The argument wasn't about the Boston murders—at least not on the surface. It was about a bar tab.
Think about that. After everything they’d been through, a dispute over how to split the bill at a strip club was the spark. Bradley also realized he left his phone at the club, and Hernandez refused to turn the car around. Bradley started throwing "disrespectful remarks" at him.
The Moment in the Industrial Park
The car pulled over in an isolated area near Riviera Beach, Palm Beach County.
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Hernandez allegedly pulled out a gun and shot Bradley point-blank between the eyes. The bullet traveled through Bradley’s hand—he was trying to protect his face—and into his head. Hernandez then dumped him on the ground and drove off.
Bradley survived, which is a miracle in itself. But he didn't name Hernandez to the police right away. Why? Because he wanted to handle it himself. He wanted revenge.
He eventually lost his right eye. He underwent multiple surgeries and ended up with a prosthetic. It wasn't until the Odin Lloyd investigation blew up that Bradley finally decided to cooperate with authorities, realizing he "wasn't going down" for Hernandez's crimes.
Life After the Bullet
Even after being shot in the face, Bradley's life didn't slow down. In 2014, he was involved in a shooting at a Hartford nightclub called Vevo Lounge. After being shot in the leg, he allegedly went to his car, got a gun, and fired 11 rounds into the club.
During his sentencing for that incident, his lawyer argued that Bradley was "targeted" because of his connection to the Hernandez case. He ended up serving a five-year sentence for that.
The dynamic between Alexander Bradley and Aaron Hernandez is a case study in how quickly a "ride or die" friendship can turn into a literal death match. One was an NFL star with everything to lose; the other was a street-smart associate who knew too much.
What to Take Away
Understanding the timeline of Alexander Bradley before the shooting helps clarify the sheer level of volatility surrounding Aaron Hernandez. It wasn't a sudden snap. It was a long, slow build-up of drugs, illegal firearms, and an obsession with "respect" that eventually cost one man his career and the other his eye.
If you’re following the legal history of this case, keep these points in mind:
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- Watch the testimony: Bradley’s appearances in the 2017 double-murder trial are some of the most chilling pieces of evidence available.
- Check the civil suits: The 2013 lawsuit Bradley filed against Hernandez was actually the first public red flag that something was seriously wrong in the player’s personal life, appearing just days before the Odin Lloyd murder.
- Read the transcripts: The cross-examination by Jose Baez is a masterclass in how defense attorneys attempt to dismantle the credibility of a witness with a criminal past.
Bradley remains one of the most polarizing figures in this saga—a victim, an accomplice, and a survivor all at once.